Coffee table book about wild gardens

October 8, 2024 5:12 AM

As a present for my wife I am looking for a nice coffee table book about stunning gardens. She likes her garden a bit more on the wild side, so not the "english garden" style. Any ideas? Would be nice if there are not only pictures but also a somewhat substantial text about the gardens, or interviews with the creators.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

Phaidon is the best imprint for substantial, informative coffee table books, and the quality is always excellent. I happen to have the pocket version of “The Garden Book” and the text is way too small, but otherwise it’s fabulous. (If a Phaidon price seems too good to be true it may be a pocket version, you’ve been warned!)
posted by seemoorglass at 5:32 AM on October 8 [1 favorite]

I think Kelly Norris's New Naturalism is a really spectacular work. Piet Oudolf is sort of the 'inventor' of contemporary/western naturalist gardening. Anything by or about him would suit her.
posted by Think_Long at 6:05 AM on October 8 [2 favorites]

Anything you can find by Edna Walling, or featuring her garden designs, should fit the bill. More on her style.
posted by flabdablet at 6:14 AM on October 8

Wild, by Noel Kingsbury, and Piet Oudolf at Work (both published by Phaidon) are great, as are Kelly Norris' New Naturalism and Ian Hodgson's New Wild Garden.
posted by box at 7:11 AM on October 8