Gardens of Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Once mostly rolling hills and valleys covered with hardwood forest in the seventeenth century, contemporary Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley now claim the largest concentration of many of the finest public and private gardens in the world. William M. Klein explores the broader attitudes and behaviors toward nature that have influenced this developmentt-of colonial farms and gardens created for survival to the art of suburban gardens to nature conservatories and public parks.
Discover how in 300 years we have moved from fencing nature out to fencing nature in. Out of the past, examine the worm fence at Colonial Pennsylvania Plantations, overgrown by weeds as it would have been during Colonial times, zigzagging across the fields tenuously holding back the great forest that presses down. Into the present, consider the chain link fence at the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum that bounds a threatened wetland habitat from the intrusion of highways and reverberates to the sounds of traffic from I-95 and the Philadelphia International Airport.
Klein's eloquent and knowledgeable narrative include detailed portraits of forty-four individual gardens, all lustrously illustrated by noted garden photographer Derek Fell. While considering a particular garden's historical and social influences, Klein discusses the philosophy behind each garden, its planner's goals and even personality, and the garden's interaction with surrounding architecture.
This complete guide also includes each location's address, phone number, hours of operation, events, and featured plants, flowers, and trees. Yet this book goes far beyond the usual guides in this search for answers to the perennial questions of how and why each generation struggles to define its place in nature. As we approach the twenty-first century, the garden has become the metaphor for how we must begin to view all nature today-tended space where we collect, name, nurture, and share our love of plants.
From the Inside Flap
"Encyclopedic in content, poetic in vision, this book is an indispensable addition to the library of anyone interested in the history of gardens in this region, or, for that matter, American gardening as a whole."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Philadelphia and its environs are often described as a mecca for American gardens, so it's only fitting that Bill Klein has written an eloquent yet finely detailed account of the horticultural wonders of this area."
-Jane G. Pepper, President, Pennsylvania Horticultural Museum
Gardens of Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley
Gardens of Philadelphia & the Delaware Valley,William M. Klein,Derek Fell,Temple University Press,1566393132,Delaware River Valley (N.Y.-De,Delaware River Valley (N.Y.-Del. and N.J.),Garden Design,Gardening,Gardening / Horticulture,Gardening/Plants,Gardens,Landscape,Landscape Horticulture,Pennsylvania,Philadelphia
Book Contents:
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