The definitive guide, from roses to peonies — no garden is complete without plants from China.
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Garden Plants of China, The
£45.00
It is hard to imagine gardens without peonies, flowering peaches, camellias, gardenias, azaleas, wisteria, forsythia, crab-apples and the host of other ornamentals that were introduced first in Chinese gardens. And the development of the modern repeat-flowering roses would not have occurred had the so-called monthly roses not been brought to Europe from China. In spite of the romance and excitement generated by the discoveries of the famous plant hunters in the wilds of China, the Chinese plants with the greatest impact on the gardens of the world have actually come from Chinese gardens and nurseries.
Media Reviews
This is a splendid and detailed book, profusely illustrated in colour with excellent modern photographs and a few reproductions from early Chinese and classic European journals.
Everyone with an interest in Chinese culture, gardens, and plants will find much to learn and enjoy in this beautiful, readable and scholarly work.
While we are often bombarded with a wealth of information on the Chinese plants that have been grown in our garden for, at the most, a few hundred years, this book describes those that the Chinese have been growing themselves, often for several thousand years . . . An excellent and important addition to the available literature on Chinese plants.
Examination of the relationship between Chinese philosophies and the garden are followed by a detailed treatment of some 400 plants.
It is both a beautifully designed and illustrated book, and one that is thoughtfully organized and well written.
He makes the case that the plants that appear in Chinese gardens are there more because of their rich historical and cultural associations than for their horticultural performance. More than fifteen hundred years of art and literature attend these plants, and Valder reproduces paintings, drawings, pottery, poetry, and folklore to illustrate his point.
A delightfully written presentations of some 400 favorite plants that we take so much for granted, and which have come to us from these very special gardens. It’s not one you’ll quickly put back on a shelf.
A beautifully illustrated master work by a botanist who has received the Medal of the Order of Australia for his contributions to horticulture.
An excellent book for both the serious and not-so-serious gardener.
It is pure enjoyment to read.
Looking through this beautiful book will make you want to book a flight immediately. The photos were so well chosen that you can almost hear Chinese music playing as you study them.
This book is a must for anyone interested in China and interested in gardening…If you want to give a gift to a gardener who is interested in feng shui, this book will knock their socks off. No other book exists like it in English.
Outstanding academic title.
The richly illustrated text is a stunning expose on gardening... Principles of Chinese horticulture and its role in Chinese history, culture, and philosophy, including edible landscaping, are all there.
A spectacular work.
Anyone contemplating a trip to China, or indeed intrigued with many of the commoner garden ornamentals, will find this sumptuous coffee-table book a great fund of information . . . The magnificent reproductions of paintings and impeccable photography of temples and misty vistas capture not only the sense but something of the sensibility of China.
The Garden Plants of China is a beautifully realized book. And it should quickly become a standard reference on [China] the Mother of Gardens.
Combining vast research as well as information and photographs from his many trips to China, Valder presents a comprehensive volume on ornamental plants in the gardens of China.
This splendid book is an important addition to the otherwise scanty and scattered literature in English on China's contribution to the garden splendor of the West and should be added to every library's horticultural section.
A beautiful book . . . A significant addition to horticultural literature . . . Highly recommended.
His book is fascinating scholarship, with handsome photographs of the plants and their county.
Remarkably handsome, remarkably good value, and a remarkably good read, this is certainly a book to buy.
If you are greedy for cultural and horticultural history, this artful book will alter your coffee table in to a shrine.
An important reference guide for anyone interested in the history and origin of plant introductions.
The richly-illustrated text is a stunning expose on gardening...Principles of Chinese horticulture and its role in Chinese history, culture, and philosophy, including edible landscaping are all here.
Insightful and fascinating.
A great addition to the library of anyone who has traveled to China, is thinking of traveling to Chinga, or just wants to read about China and its great garden plants. The book is everything the author intended it to be as described in the introduction. . . . For people that love plants this is a fun, informative book. If I didn't already have a copy. . . I would envy anyone that did.
Author and botanist Peter Valder is ... a gifted photographer, and The Garden Plants of China both shows and tells.