Education of a Gardener

A fabulous book about designing gardens great and small, packed with wisdom on the abiding principles of gorgeous garden design.WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ALAN TITCHMARSHRussell Page was one of the most legendary gardeners and landscapers of the last century. He designed gardens great and small for clients around the world. A rare combination of born plantsman and garden architect, he was a master of colour, form and structure. Page also understood that most tricky dimension of garden design: the passage of time. From Longleat to the Frick Collection, his gardens can be enjoyed to this day.Packed with wisdom and beautiful writing, this book offers a unique perspective on great garden design and is essential reading for every gardener.'One of the most thoughtful and civilized gardening books ever written, by a master designer' Daily Telegraph

Russell Page was one of the great English landscape architects of this century...His book The Education of a Gardener remains, in my view, the best combined guide to planting and designing a garden ever written, with inspiration for every sort of gardener, wherever they are placed. The last chapter on his own dream garden is brilliant, Probably the most influential 20th-century book on garden design... It is the universality of its lessons that is the great strength of his book, Page has written an astonishingly beautiful book about his craft, Page had a great talent and a sensitivity not only to different types of flora and to different climates, but also to the architectural requirements of gardens, both large and small... Combining a painter's eye (his only formal training was in art) with a pragmatic and encyclopedic knowledge of horticulture, he produced gardens that were - are -extraordinarily lovely, Russell Page, admittedly a bit of a mystic, is pretty much out there by himself with his verdant heart and green digits

Russell Page (Author) Russell Page became a professional garden designer in 1928 after studying painting at the Slade School, University of London, and in Paris. He designed a great variety of gardens in Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, ranging from small cottage and town gardens to elaborate layouts including the Battersea Festival Gardens in 1952. He was one of only three Englishmen to have received a medal from the French Academy of Architecture. Russell Page died in January 1985. After his death The Times wrote, "In a world in which the gifted amateur is no longer the guiding light in the design of gardens, and in which highly qualified professionals prevail, Russell Page stood out as one of those great originals, for which England has been famous."Alan Titchmarsh (Introducer) Alan Titchmarsh MBE is known to millions through his career as a television presenter of shows including Love Your Weekend, Love Your Garden, Ground Force, Gardeners' World, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and ITV's Spring Into Summer. He has written more than forty gardening books, as well as eleven novels and three volumes of memoirs. He was made MBE in the millennium New Year Honours list and holds the Victoria Medal of Honour, the Royal Horticultural Society's highest award.