Vivienne Hambly – författare

From the great temperate landscapes of North America to the deserts of North Africa and the subtropical ecosystems of Asia, Amazing Gardens provides a brilliantly-informed snapshot of many of the greatest and best-known formal gardens from around the globe. In this book, wander the 200 hectares (500 acres) of England’s Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, reputed to have one of the largest and most diverse range of plants in the world; explore New York City’s High Line, where a disused railway track through the city’s Meatpacking District has been turned into a 2.3 kilometre (1.44 mile) elevated park; marvel at Beijing’s Summer Palace, a world heritage site dating from the 12th century, with a layout based on Chinese mythology and arranged according to the ancient principles of feng shui; see the palace complex of the Taj Mahal in Agra, designed in the Mughal style and with gardens planted with roses, narcissi, marigolds and jasmine, offering an intimation of paradise; wonder at the biophilic workspace of the Seattle Spheres, a futuristic office space populated by more than 40,000 plants; and experience the waterlilies and Japanese bridge of Claude Monet’s famous paintings at the great artist’s gardens at Giverny. Illustrated with more than 200 luxuriant images, Amazing Gardens not only champions the splendour of the world’s most magnificent gardens, but also reveals many fascinating stories about the history of these places and the people who created them.