This rich and beautiful book takes readers from tropical forests to deserts, and from alpine mountains to English country gardens as it tours the most magnificent botanic havens in the world. There has never been a better time to celebrate botanic gardens. As centres for research, conservation and education, these expansive collections are integral to our understanding of the true power of plants. But they also hold some of the most beautiful species on earth – including ferns, trees, cacti, orchids and more – expertly cared for and presented as a feast for the senses, delighting thousands of visitors each year.
In a curation of the most inspiring and diverse botanic gardens from around the world – from Brooklyn and San Francisco, to Colombia and Brazil; Oxford and Kew, to Cape Town and Mauritius; Norway and Germany, to Sydney and Thailand – discover surprising diversity, superb vistas and some of the most intriguing plants you can imagine. Ambra Edwards introduces the gardens – bringing them to life on the page – and uncovers their history, collections and scientific influence. This book will not shy from sometimes uncomfortable truths, but it is first and foremost a celebration of the wonder that is contained within the world's greatest botanic gardens.
Award-winning writer and garden historian Ambra Edwards is author of the National Trust's definitive The Story of the English Garden, the acclaimed global history The Story of Gardening (with Penelope Hobhouse) and most recently The Plant Hunter's Atlas, which tells the enthralling stories of plants and the people who found them. In 2017 her best-selling book Head Gardeners was named Book of the Year by the Garden Media Guild. Three times named Garden Journalist of the Year in Britain, her work also appears in Europe and Australia.