Louis the XIV commissioned a landscape gardener to design the Potager de Roi at Versailles. Many of the fruit and vegetable pruning systems developed by this gardener are still in use today. This beautiful book illustrates the design and planting of the ornamental vegetable garden, where aesthetics and practicality combine to create edible gardens.

Today's gardeners have more plants and design ideas to choose from than ever before. But is there something missing in their gardens if they ignore their ties to the past? Denise Wiles Adams has written a remarkable book of history and horticulture that documents the changing plant palette of American gardens. From the colonial era to the pre-World War II period, no region of the country is neglected and no major plant group unrepresented. From a database of more than 25,000 plants and hundreds of antique nursery catalogs, she has distilled a unique survey of American ornamental gardens. Nobody concerned with historic homes and properties can afford to be without it. An important resource that will be consulted for generations, Restoring American Gardens is a vital link between gardeners and their predecessors throughout history. This book is only available through print on demand. All interior art is black and white.

Explains how to use a system of layered mulch materials, including newspaper, leaves, and grass clippings, to provide a nutrient-rich base for healthy gardens and robust flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruits

Offers guidance for designing, planting, and taking care of a meadow with information on plants, styles, and examples from all over the country.

Offers advice on buying and growing different kinds of plants with an emphasis on the use of native plant species and the techniques of organic gardening.

Today's hottest horticultural trend is vegetable gardening--and the newest crop of vegetable gardens is a treat for the eye as well as the palate. The proof is evident on every page of the first full-color celebration of the ornamental vegetable gardens of America. 250 full-color photos. Size C. 192 pp. Author tour & national publicity. 20,000 print.