Noel Kingsbury – författare

Throughout history flowers have been an integral part of human survival and culture – as food, for medicine, to express feelings, as symbols, to commemorate and celebrate, and to decorate. Their shapes, colours, scents and textures have always attracted us, as they do animals and insects. Flowers are used as luxury spices (saffron), and as colouring and flavouring agents – marigolds fed to chickens make eggs more yellow and lavender was Elizabeth I’s favourite flavour of jam. Flowers are full of symbolic meaning: violets represent modesty, daises purity and daffodils unrequited love. And they have always played an important role in culture through myths and legends, literature and the decorative arts. This delightful new book brings together 100 of the world’s flowers to tell their remarkable stories. Each flower is richly illustrated in colour and accompanied by facts about each species and what role it has played in our culture and history.

Disheartened by the shrink-wrapped, Styrofoam-packed state of contemporary supermarket fruits and vegetables, many shoppers hark back to a more innocent time, to visions of succulent red tomatoes plucked straight from the vine, gleaming orange carrots pulled from loamy brown soil, swirling heads of green lettuce basking in the sun. With "Hybrid", Noel Kingsbury reveals that even those imaginary perfect foods are themselves far from anything that could properly be called natural; rather, they represent the end of a millennia-long history of selective breeding and hybridization. Drawing on historical and scientific accounts, as well as a rich trove of anecdotes, Kingsbury shows how scientists, amateur breeders, and countless anonymous farmers and gardeners slowly caused the evolutionary pressures of nature to be supplanted by those of human needs.

Piet Oudolf's personal account of his celebrated career in the context of the evolution of his own gardenAn intimate look at the personal garden of the Dutch landscape designer renowned for his plantings at the High Line in New York City, and Lurie Garden at Chicago’s Millennium Park.Hummelo - near the village of the same name in Gelderland in the eastern Netherlands - is visited by thousands of gardeners seeking inspiration each year. It is Piet Oudolf’s home, his personal garden laboratory, a former nursery run by his wife Anja, and the place where he first tested new designs and created the new varieties of perennials that are now widely available.A follow-up to Oudolf’s successful Landscapes in Landscapes - Hummelo tells the story of how the garden has evolved over the past three decades since Oudolf, Anja, and their two young sons moved onto the property, with its loamy sand and derelict, wood stove-heated farmhouse, in 1982.Text by noted garden author and longtime personal friend Noel Kingsbury places Hummelo in context within gardening history, from The Netherlands’ counterculture and nascent green movement of the 1960s, to prairie restoration in the American Midwest, and shows how its development has mirrored that of Oudolf’s own outstanding career and unique naturalistic aesthetic.Oudolf has long been at the forefront of the Dutch Wave and New Perennial Style movements in garden design, which have ecological considerations at their base. His work stresses a deep knowledge of plants, eschewing short-lived annuals in favor of perennials that can be appreciated for both structure and blooms in every season. He is credited for leading the way to today’s focus on sustainability in garden design.The book will appeal to readers who favor beautiful, biodiverse, and ever-changing plantings: seed heads, grasses, sedges, and winter silhouettes. They will be drawn into its pages by lush photography, often demonstrating how Oudolf views his own work, and providing rare glimpses into his daily life.Short essays highlight important techniques, including scatter plants and matrix planting, and introduce other famed landscape designers - Karl Foerster, Henk Gerritsen, Rob Leopold, Ernst Pagels, and Mien Ruys - to create a full panorama of the movement Oudolf now leads.

"Indispensable." -The New York Times Book Review Piet Oudolf's gardens-unique combinations of long-lived perennials and woody plants that are rich in texture and sophisticated in colour-are breath-taking and have deep emotional resonance. With Planting, designers and home gardeners can recreate these plant-rich, beautiful gardens that support biodiversity and nourish the human spirit. An intimate knowledge of plants is essential to the success of modern landscape design, and Planting shares Oudolf's considerable understanding of plant ecology, explaining how plants behave in different situations, what goes on underground, and which species make good neighbors. Extensive plant charts and planting plans will help you choose plants for their structure, colour, and texture. A detailed directory shares details like each plant's life expectancy, the persistence of its seedheads, and its propensity to self-seed.

Transform even the smallest outdoor space into a vibrant, beautifully designed garden with New Small Garden, now repackaged into a flexible paperback edition.  Small gardens can be some of the most rewarding spaces we tend and also some of the most challenging. In this practical and inspiring book, planting expert Noel Kingsbury teaches you how to see compact spaces differently, revealing how thoughtful design can turn any tiny space into a thriving green haven.   Drawing on decades of horticultural expertise and the latest approaches in sustainable gardening, Kingsbury shows how limited area doesn’t restrict creativity. Instead, it offers opportunities for smarter choices and more intentional design.  Across beautifully photographed real gardens, he explores the combinations that work best for small spaces. Whether you’re a beginner looking to plant your first border or a seasoned gardener rethinking an existing space, this book offers eye‑opening guidance that will elevate what you grow and how you grow it.  For example, you will learn how to:  Design for small spaces using visual illusions, diagonal sightlines and layered planting that makes compact gardens feel larger. Choose the right plants for the upper, middle and ground layers, including perennials, shrubs, climbers, grasses and bulbs. Use sustainable practices such as rain‑garden features, permeable surfaces, water‑smart planting and wildlife‑supportive design. Work with microclimates and urban conditions to grow healthier, more resilient plants. Incorporate vertical planting to maximise growing area and add height. Create character and continuity with focal points, containers, repeated materials and seasonal planting schemes. Support biodiversity by designing habitats that welcome beneficial species.  Learn from real-life examples, including six whole‑garden case studies showcasing successful small gardens and the thinking behind them. The book is complete with more than 450 stunning photographs by renowned lifestyle photographer, Maayke de Ridder, illustrating every concept through lush, real-world inspiration.  Whether you’re working with a courtyard, balcony, terrace or back garden, New Small Garden gives you the tools and confidence to create a beautiful and deeply personal outdoor space, no matter its size.

‘This extraordinarily useful compendium should be required reading for anyone aspiring to … a gorgeous garden.’ – New York Times Book ReviewA stunning exploration of one of the hottest trends in garden design, nature-based planting with an eco-aware approach, featuring the work of leading designers such as Sean Hogan, Piet Oudolf, and Dan PearsonForget the mild, manicured gardens of the past: planting today is undergoing a revolution in taste and aesthetics. This is the first comprehensive overview of a new planting approach that is wild and natural by nature, reflecting the global turn towards sustainability and the current zeitgeist in garden design. Featuring over 40 gardens – from a perennial meadow in East Sussex, England to a private, drought-resistant garden in Australia – each garden in this stunning book is brought to life with beautiful photography and insightful text.

The Netherlands is steeped in horticultural history and its gardens have long been a place for innovation and progressive thinking, exemplified by iconic figures such as the landscape architect Mien Ruys and naturalistic plant pioneer Piet Oudolf.In this book, Noel Kingsbury and Maayke de Ridder explore how the particularities of landscape, history and culture in the Netherlands have given rise to distinctive gardens and demonstrates how a new generation of Dutch designers are reimagining outdoor space in such a revolutionary way.At the heart of the story is a people intimately engaged with their surroundings, as proud of the feats of engineering used to reclaim their land from the sea as they are passionate about nature and biodiversity. This creative tension is played out in their parks and gardens: a clean, pared-back aesthetic contrasts with billowing planting; water is managed and made accessible with boardwalks; and meandering paths lead to inviting outbuildings for work and relaxation.These inspiring examples of sustainable, modern, liveable outdoor spaces will appeal to forward-looking garden makers wherever they live.