Appealing and absorbing guide which urges us to think about what we want from our gardens. An ideal companion for Yellow Book abd Good Gardens Guide users. The Bookseller

RORY STUART worked as a teacher of English literature - in India and America; at Uppingham School, Westminster School, and The Cheltenham Ladies' College. He inherited a Cotswold cottage with a beautiful garden and began to look at plants and gardens critically, which eventually led to a course in Garden Design. He set up as a designer, and began writing articles for magazines including Hortus, The Garden, The English Garden and The Historic Gardens Review. He has led garden tours of France, India and Italy and his fascination with gardens has now taken him to Rome, where he is learning how to grow plants in the challenging conditions of the hills outside the city. His other title for Frances Lincoln is Gardens of the World (9780711231306).

What are gardens for? Garden Visiting Garden Criticism The Garden Critic in Action Taste Style and Meaning Memory and Atmosphere The Ten Best Gardens: 1. Wang Shi Yuan, Suzhou, China 2. Hidcote Manor, Gloucestershire, England 3. Ninfa, Lazio, Italy 4. Nezu Museum garden, Tokyo, Japan 5. Innisfree, Millbrook, New York, USA 6. The Alhambra/Generalife complex, Granada, Spain 7. Lotusland, California, USA 8. Villa Lante, Bagnaia, Italy 9. Mount Stewart, Newtownards, Northern Ireland 10 = Fenton House, Hampstead, London 10= The Majorelle Garden. Marrakech. Morocco