A History of Garden Art

Marie Luise Gothein (1863–1931) published this scholarly two-volume history of garden design in German in 1913. Its second edition of 1925 was translated into English by Laura Archer-Hind, edited by gardening author Walter P. Wright (1864–1940), and published in 1928. The highly illustrated work is still regarded as among the most thorough and important surveys of its kind. It begins by examining evidence from both archaeology and literature, as well as climate and soil conditions, to discuss the gardens of ancient Egypt and Assyria, and continues to survey developments worldwide until the twentieth century. Individual gardens, technical innovations, and fashions in horticulture are all discussed in detail. Volume 1 surveys the ancient civilisations of the Near East, Greece and Rome, discusses Byzantine and Islamic gardens, and the importance of monastery gardens in western Europe, and ends with a review of gardening in Europe during the Renaissance.