Setting the Scene: A Garden Design Masterclass from Repton to the Modern Age

(Hardback)

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In Setting the Scene, leading landscape/garden designer and Chelsea Gold medallist George Carter distils a career of over thirty years in garden design into pithy lessons that will be invaluable to any garden designer (or garden owner). George Carter's work has been inspired by the gardens of the past, from the formality of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the informal landscapes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He cites the landscape designer Humpry Repton (1752-1818) as his greatest influence. Setting the Scene shows us how successful gardens are designed and made. Following the pattern set by Repton in his famous Red Books, George Carter takes us through the process in meticulous detail, leading us from the initial site plan to the glory of the finished garden, and illustrating each chapter with photographs and plans of gardens from his own portfolio, including Albemarle House in Charlottesville, Virginia, a cottage in Pennsylvania, farmhouses in Mirmande in south-eastern France, Los Moritos in Trujillo, The Garden of Surprises in Burghley, Lincolnshire, Penshurst Place, Kent, Holkham Hall, Norfolk, the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, his own garden at Silverstone Farm, Norfolk, and the garden of the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace.

Reviews

"Lavishly illustrated with fine photographs of Carter's garden designs taken by Marianne Majerus. It will be inspirational and of great practical use for anyone setting out to design a garden."

* Topiarius *

"Acclaimed garden designer George Carter shows us how to translate the ideas of Repton's Red Books on garden planning and layout through his own work today."

* The Lady Books of the Year *

"Cleverly woven with interesting information about Repton himself and his influences on Georges own career. The result is a series of pithy lessons that will be invaluable to any garden designer or garden owner indeed for anyone interested in horticulture and design. There are excellent plans and photographs of gardens from his own portfolio, ranging from small urban gardens to large country estates, the world over."

* The Reckless Gardener *

"Sheer originality, verve, wit and invention burst from the images on these pages. The author modestly tells us about Repton - but it is Carter from whom we learn. He gives the amateur designer the confidence to experiment with ornament and be bold with evergreen shapes."

-- Tim Richardson * Gardens Illustrated *

"One of the most inspiring books on garden design I've ever encountered."

-- Alan Titchmarsh * Waitrose Weekend *

"George Carter distils his 30-year career into a set of lively and useful chapters. Ultimately, [this book] shows how adaptable Repton's ideas are for gardens of all sizes today. There is a relaxed feeling, as if you're a participant in a three-decade-long conversation between the two."

-- Barbara Segall * House & Garden *

George Carter will transform a backyard into Versailles.

-- Independent

Author Bio

George Carter began his career by designing exhibitions for museums and art galleries. After working for Londons Geffrye Museum and for the Sainsbury Centre at the University of East Anglia, he turned his attention to gardens and soon attracted a variety of clients the world over, with gardens great and small.

He has designed gardens in France and Spain, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maine, as well as all over Britain, and has won eight Chelsea Gold Medals. Previous books includeGarden Space (Mitchell Beazley, 2005);Garden Magic (Double-Barrelled Books, 2015). He lives in Norfolk.

Marianne Majerus is a regular contributor to many national and international publications, including House and Garden, Gardens Illustrated, Country Life, Homes and Gardens, Country Homes and Interiors, The Garden, English Garden, The Times, Guardian, and Daily Telegraph. Her photographs have featured in over 200 books. In2010 the British Garden Media Guild named her International Garden Photographer of the Year, in 2011 Garden Photographer of the Year and in 2013 Features Photographer of the Year.