The Flowering of the Landscape Garden: English Pleasure Grounds, 1720-1800
University of Pennsylvania Press 1999
448pp with 66 colour and 228 b/w illustrations. Fine, new copy. This is a study of the colourful flowers and blossoming shrubs which adorned the Georgian landscape garden. It focuses on the historical reconstruction of the formal and horticultural characteristics of shrubberies and flowerbeds, but also discusses the transmission of planting lore, and interaction between landscape designer, client, nurseryman, land agent, and gardener in modifying and transforming the geometric layouts of previous generations. Laird offers readers a wealth of visual and literary materials—from contemporary paintings, engravings, poetry, essays, and letters to more prosaic household accounts and nursery bills—to revolutionize our understanding of the English landscape garden as a powerful cultural expression.