Eden on Their Minds

American Gardeners with Bold Visions

by Starr Ockenga

Hundreds of photographs and fascinating text illustrate how a diverse group of gardeners have gone beyond traditon to create their own personal visions of paradise.

Each of the gardens bears the indelible stamp of the individual. Paul Held's Connecticut garden reflects his passion for the Japanese Sakurasoh, a variety of primula he propagates from seed. Marlyn Sachtjen's Wisconsin property is a sanctuary for the magnificent trees she has termed "majesties." In his Illinois garden, Justin Harper collects and propagates rare conifers, and in a New York penthouse Mark Bramble's obsession is orchids. Artists such as Sarah Draney in upstate New York and Marcia Donahue in northern California have conceived landscapes that serve as the ideal settings for their own works, while Richard Reames forms living trees into unique arborsculpture in Oregon. William Woys Weaver and husband-wife team Karen Stohbeen and Bill Luchsinger use their Pennsylvania and Iowa gardens as labortories for ongoing experimentation in heirloom vegetable cultivation and ambitious perennial gardening. Intimate portraits of the gardeners themselves and invaluable lists of the plants and techniques these innovators have devised over years and decades of gardening make this a useful and memorable addition to any gardener's library.

235 pages