Spirited Garden: Creative Private Retreats

A private view of intensely creative residential gardens, lovingly designed and tended by the plant-obsessed owners themselves. Hundreds of inspiring photographs show home gardeners how to successfully inject elements of their own personality--as well as plants in unique combinations--into their own yards.

A mix of high plant/horticultural knowledge and a love of artistically repurposed everyday materials as low-cost but unique features will strike a chord with all those who dream of perking up their own gardens. The photographer-author team sought out the most original gardens to featured here: those that use cleverly repurposed industrial and found materials, handmade archways made of gnarled branches or hand-welded fences, or unique sculptures and structures. Text and deep captions full of plant IDs highlight unusual or remarkable collections of flora and foliage and allow readers to re-create the planting designs and combinations that they see on the page.