Alexandra D'Arnoux

Hidden behind the elegant facades and high walls of Paris are its private gardens. Whether grandiose or minuscule, highly manicured or exuberantly untended, these gardens are a secret treasure seldom seen by the visitor to Paris. This book reveals some fifty gardens, all created with passion by their owners, often in collaboration with well-known landscape designers. Each proprietor discusses the conditions in which the garden was created, the constraints and the problems that were encountered, and explains why the final design and plantings were chosen. The traditional French-style gardens, such as those of Hubert de Givenchy or Pierre Berge, are attached to private town houses, and their designs mirror the elegance and restraint of these classic dwellings. Romantic, picturesque potagers or kitchen gardens belonging to Yves Saint Laurent and others reflect their owners' taste for outdoor living. Tropical gardens with giant ferns and rare flowers, admirably tended oriental gardens, a Russian garden surrounding a little wooden hut, a Japanese garden that encourages meditation—these exotic hideaways allow us to discover other cultures. Beautifully photographed and described, this sumptuous volume invites the reader to explore these secluded horticultural gems within the heart of Paris, the most magical of cities. 220 color photographs.… (meer)