The Naturally Beautiful Garden: Designs That Engage with Wildlife and Nature

Got this for a family member this Christmas. It was a wonderful surprise to see full page elegant pictures and an easy-to-read story with it!

The book is full of dreamy photographs of millionaires gardens from around the world. Not at all helpful on a practical level and for me a complete waste of money. I shall try to forget I've just wasted nearly £30.

The first thing that grabbed me about this book was that it is astoundingly beautiful throughout.Whether the cover appeals to your taste in gardens is a matter of personal taste... but what becomes clear as I leafed through it was that every single photo is as good as the cover photo, in terms of composition and the garden being depicted.But it would be a mistake to dismiss this as a picture book. Kathryn Bradley-Hole was Garden Editor of Country Life for 18 years, and wrote her own column, so the text stands on its own quite separately from the pictures.The magazine heritage shows through - this is a book about beautiful gardens, so it's primarily organised around those gardens, with a description of each that reads like a (good) magazine article - a mix of context, description of the garden features, and in most cases a quote or two from the gardener. And, most importantly, on every page the text actually relates to the garden pictured, rather than talking about design or gardening principles that have nothing to do with the photos.So in principle, it lends itself to dipping in and out, reading a few pages at a time.I was unable to do this, on account of being captivated. I read the entire thing at a single sitting... and now intend to go back, post-it notes in hand, flagging up the things I saw that I want to discuss with my wife (with a view to changes in our garden.)But, as I look back over the book, another thing struck me. That, as promised in the opening few pages, this book is firmly about contemporary gardens. It's not re-treading the same material about Hidcote or Sissinghurst. Even the fleeting photo of Gravetye Manor makes it clear that we're talking about the restored garden, not the historical Robinson one.So, a book of ideas and inspiration, rather than a how-to... and by sticking to that job, it firmly scores a full five stars.

Initially I was surprised at the small format of this book,expecting something larger and well more of a coffee table book. However don’t be deceived. Small is indeed beautiful. This a a book full of high quality photographs and thankfully produced in a rich glossy finish that shows the gardens to perfection. A variety of gardens is explored from around the world showing many different garden design styles. A few photos seemed kind of pointless…does a picture of a duck really add anything?, but this is a minor niggle. Would have loved to see more photos of some of the gardens featured and I feel there could have been more information on the plant varieties seen in the gardens. Definitely one of the better garden books recently published and worth a place on any garden lovers bookshelf.

I was initially delighted to receive this book, but I have returned it on the basis that some of the garden imagery is out of focus.