The Garden Lover's Guide to France (Garden Lover's Guides)

Packed with information on over 100 public and private gardens, the slim Garden Lover's Guide to France offers the perfect tour for anyone who's passionate about plants and wants to explore the tailored greenery of France. Author Patrick Taylor is an experienced garden historian who includes a balanced mixture of information, photographs, and diagrams to describe what he calls the two distinctive types of cultivated areas in France: the 17th-century Baroque gardens and public gardens. Covering mostly grand and formal gardens, the book is divided into five major regions and includes helpful tour maps and directions. In each garden's profile, readers will find detailed descriptions of the garden, its history, color photographs, plant species and varieties, special landscape or architectural features, facilities information, and nearby sites of interest. Some of the larger and more renowned gardens such as Versailles and Chateau de Courances have three-dimensional garden plans, which are helpful when exploring the grounds. From the Jardin des Plantes in Paris to Monet's garden at Giverny to the desert specimens of Jardin Exotique in Monaco, visitors are sure to find la plus belle of this picturesque country. --Karen Karleski