Penelope Hobhouse

The Greater Perfection, now with a new foreword by Francis H. Cabot’s daughter, tells the story behind the creation of Les Quatre Vents, one of the world’s most breathtaking gardens. Featured in the 2018 film The Gardener, Les Quatre Vents in Charlevoix County, Quebec, has been acclaimed as the most aesthetically satisfying and horticulturally exciting landscape experience in North America. This twenty-acre garden seamlessly combines traditional and novel elements into a splendid composition, adorned with unexpected touches and perfectly compatible with its natural surroundings. The Greater Perfection, first published in 2001, illustrates the delights, diversions, and surprises that await the garden’s visitors. Francis H. Cabot’s account of the challenges he faced in developing Les Quatre Vents reveals the fascinating process behind the creation of a world-class garden that has become a mecca for horticultural enthusiasts around the globe. Winner of the 2003 Annual Literature Award of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries and featuring stunning full-color images by five leading garden photographers, The Greater Perfection is one of the most beautiful books on gardens to appear in years. This new printing includes a foreword by Marianne Cabot Welch, Cabot’s daughter, that further contextualizes the gardens and explores how a place rooted in the past can confront the future.

Penelope Hobhouse, the legendary authority on garden history, composes a beautifully crafted, lavishly illustrated history of gardening over millennia. From the cooling fountains of the Alhambra to the clean lines of the French parterre, The Story of Gardening draws fascinating connections among gardens across time and place. Hobhouse addresses styles and techniques from all over the world, revealing the origins of the world's most magnificent gardens. Award-winning journalist and garden historian Ambra Edwards worked alongside Hobhouse to bring this comprehensive classic up-to-date with today's most recent garden developments and trends.

A fully updated and revised edition of a gardening classic.

Gardening expert Sarah Raven teaches you how to plan and create a vibrant cutting garden from which glorious flower arrangements can be created in this complete and comprehensive guide. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced flower gardener, this stunning practical guide gives you everything you need to build your own cutting garden, from which you can harvest all kinds of beautiful blooms, and also teaches you how to make your own amazing floral arrangements. From growing decorative flowers and foliage and maintaining a well-stocked cutting garden to creating floral arrangements ranging from simple bunches to romantic hanging globes, swags and medallions, this beautifully presented book provides all the information you need to get started with your own cutting garden.A must-have for any flower-lover's shelf, this helpful guide will help you fill your garden and your home with colour!