Chanticleer, a forty-eight-acre garden on Philadelphia's historic Main Line, is many things simultaneously: a lush display of verdant intensity and variety, an irreverent and informal setting for inventive plant combinations, a homage to the native trees and horticultural heritage of the mid-Atlantic, a testament to one man's devotion to his family's estate and legacy, and a good spot for a stroll and picnic amid the blooms. In Chanticleer: A Pleasure Garden, Adrian Higgins and photographer Rob Cardillo chronicle the garden's many charms over the course of two growing cycles. Built on the grounds of the Rosengarten estate in Wayne, Pennsylvania, Chanticleer retains a domestic scale, resulting in an intimate, welcoming atmosphere. The structure of the estate has been thoughtfully incorporated into the garden's overall design, such that small gardens created in the footprint of the old tennis court and on the foundation of one of the family homes share space with more traditional landscapes woven around streams and an orchard. Through conversations and rambles with Chanticleer's team of gardeners and artisans, Higgins follows the garden's development and reinvention as it changes from season to season, rejoicing in the hundred thousand daffodils blooming on the Orchard Lawn in spring and marveling at the Serpentine's late summer crop of cotton, planted as a reminder of Pennsylvania's agrarian past. Cardillo's photographs reveal further nuances in Chanticleer's landscape: a rare and venerable black walnut tree near the entrance, pairs of gaily painted chairs along the paths, a backlit arbor draped in mounds of fragrant wisteria. Chanticleer fuses a strenuous devotion to the beauty and health of its plantings with a constant dedication to the mutability and natural energy of a living space. And within the garden, Higgins notes, there is a thread of perfection entwined with whimsy and continuous renewal.

Using a rich assortment of illustrations and biographical sketches, Peter Martin relates the experiences of colonial gardeners who shaped the natural beauty of Virginia's wilderness into varied displays of elegance. He shows that ornamental gardening was a scientific, aesthetic, and cultural enterprise that thoroughly engaged some of the leading figures of the period, including the British governors at Williamsburg and the great plantation owners George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, William Byrd, and John Custis. In presenting accounts of their gardening efforts, Martin reveals the intricacies of colonial garden design, plant searches, and experimentation, as well as the problems in adapting European landscaping ideas to local climate. The Pleasure Gardens of Virginia also brings to life the social and commercial interaction between Williamsburg and the plantations, and examines early American ideas about gracious living. While placing Virginia's garden tradition within the larger context of that of the colonial South, Martin tells a very human story of how this art both influenced and reflected the quality of colonial life. As Virginia grew economically and culturally, the garden became a projection of the gardener's personal identity, as exemplified by the endeavors of Washington at Mount Vernon and Jefferson at Monticello. Martin draws upon both pictorial representations and the findings of modern archaeological excavations in order to recapture the gardens as they existed in colonial times.

An illustrated survey of four centuries of gardening in America covers the subject from pre-Columbian Native American designs to the private gardens of America's suburban landscape.

Eastward in Clerkenwell lies the Mulberry Pleasure Garden: six acres of leafy walks, colonnades and pavillions. In this bosky setting parade a variety of characters of awesome granduer, innocence and evil - and all are subject to a ring of blackmail terror.

"Drawing on the largest collection of erotic art in the world, this book initiates the reader into China's intimate "gardens of pleasure." Over one hundred of the most beautiful masterpieces from this golden age - many never before published - reveal the voluptuous secrets of a lost world. An essay by Jaques Pimpaneau traces the development of Chinese eroticism in its cultural context, emphasizing the influence of religions and historical events on sexual practices. Commentaries by Ferdinand Bertholet explain the cultural symbolism of the paintings." "Beautifully ornamented with poems contemporary with the paintings, this is a collector's volume and a tribute to the unknown masters of Chinese erotic art."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Fridays From the Garden is a collection of recipes and stories from a year in a verdant Los Angeles garden. But it's more than that, too. Tracing the trajectory of Flamingo Estate, this cookbook is the story of a house that became a brand, and a brand that became a rallying cry for regenerative farming and Pleasure from the Garden.Spurred from a simple desire to support struggling farmers during the pandemic, founder Richard Christiansen turned his bookstore into a CSA box operation, which quickly grew into a weekly Friday ritual for the greater Los Angeles community - a chance to connect with the marvels of the natural world in the midst of a global pandemic.Each Friday, this box would feature beautiful, delicious produce, recipes inspired by the week's harvest, and a personal note from Richard, urging subscribers to cook a meal for someone they love. This cookbook is a collection of over 150 of those stories and recipes -a monument to the pleasures of the Flamingo Estate garden, the people that keep it buzzing, and the ways in which Mother Nature takes care of us when we take care of her.With stories by Richard Christiansen, a foreword by Martha Stewart and recipes from Chefs Ella Murphy, Jo Kim & more. Featuring the photography of Drew Escriva, Pia Riverola, Christian Högstedt, François Halard, Larkin Donley, Andrea D'Agosto, Adrian Gaut and John Von Palmer.