BY KENNATH MARIE WATKINS

D

esi gning a landscape is about connecting the body,
soul and mind to the land and to itself" -
Kathryn Gustafson
This thought-provoking quote by one of
the Western world's leading gardeners illustrates the
passion exhibited by the cutting-edge landscape design-
ers of the last century.
Andrew Wilson captures this Golden Age of garden-
ing in his stunning reference book, Influential Gardeners:
The Designers Who Shaped 20th-Century Garden
Style (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, $45).
The text is composed of 180 color photo-
graphs, and features 56 world-renowned gar-
dening personalities from Europe and
America. The whole spectrum of garden
design is detailed through text and photos,
with personal anecdotes from such garden-
ing icons as Vita Sackville-West, Russell
Page and Dan Pearson.
The author shares a little history on
each designer, focusing on their concepts
and structural form in their work. The
well-documented design principles make
this book an essential guide for both hor-
ticulturalists and enthusiasts.
Wilson is vice principal, instructor
and director at the world-famous Inchbald
School of Design in London, England. He also has writ-
ten for such publications as House and Garden, Gardens
Illustrated and Landscape Design.

