The Education Of A Gardener (New York Review Books Classics) Paperback – Illustrated, July 3, 2007

This book, first published in 1962, is one of the great classics of garden writing and should not be missed by any serious gardener, regardless of the level of experience. Page was one of the leading garden designers of the 20th Century, and his very extensive client list includes an impressive list of royals and a broad miscellany of the rich and famous around the world. But the gardens are the real stars here, and so is the delightfully readable prose. This garden design memoir is written in a light and friendly tone and will give every gardener much to think about. Page's approach to garden design was unique and strangely sympathetic and intuitive. Listen to the way he articulates his special gift for seeing the constituent parts of the garden design: "My understanding is that every object emanates - sends out vibrations beyond its physical body which are specific to itself. These vibrations vary with the nature of the object, the materials it is made of, its colour, its texture and its form." Compose the elements correctly and the emanations and vibrations are right and it feels right, the artist can see that it is so; change them slightly and the design is simply all wrong. He is wise without being pedantic and experienced without being doctrinaire or the least arrogant. A great artist, a superb plantsman and a long life crammed with incident are all combined in a well written memoir of a great life.

I received this special book timely and in good condition. I skimmed some of the pages as I have not yet had time to read it cover to cover however, it looks very interesting. I learned of Russell Page through self-education about interior design, landscape design, and architecture and have recently purchased another book about Page. The seller promptly mailed me the book and overall it was a very positive experience.

"The Education" is an autobiography of a life spent designing gardens, mostly in Europe and England. Russell Page (1906-1985) is today regarded as one of the great landscape designers of the 20th century. Born in England, he designed small gardens in Paris, formal gardens for French chateaux and great English houses, and cliffs-edge gardens on the Mediterranean. His clients included kings, duchesses and barons, captains of industry, museums and public gardens. The book is a fascinating historical glimpse into a rarefied world that most of us will never otherwise encounter, and it is written with the wit and command of the English language displayed by the men and women educated before WWII at British public schools.However, it is not a book from which the average person, who likes to plant a few flowers and veg on his little plot, will learn about "how to garden." Rather, it is advice about how to design landscapes for other people.A major detraction is that the book contains only a very limited number of small, black and white photos of gardens that Page designed. Gardening is largely a visual art, and it was difficult to picture the gardens that Page lengthily tried to describe. Art books need reproductions of the art, not just verbal descriptions of it.Also, I found it pretty hard-going to slog through paragraphs listing numerous Latin names of species that don’t grow in colder zones and that I therefore have no familiarity with.But the major impediment to the book’s usefulness to ordinary gardeners is Page's ascetic restraint in use of materials. His mission was to decide the main feeling of a place (the genius loci), and remove nearly everything else. This required a strictly limited palette of plants and other materials. Grass, trees, hedges and perhaps a large formal pool were his usual materials. Restraint was his mantra.Flowers, if permitted at all, were limited to a few formal beds or pots, or relegated to a far corner behind walls if the property owner unreasonably insisted on having more flowers.Of course, this is completely out of keeping with what most recreational gardeners want in their gardens today: flowers, vegetables and a variety of other beautiful plants, although we do want an overall design to best display them. Certainly some of Page's advice is applicable for a gardeners looking for design advice: Paths should indeed always lead somewhere; gardens should mainly be approached from the house; massing and repetition of plants does give a striking effect.But I'm not certain that Page's strongly held and somewhat snobbish opinions regarding what was artistically appropriate from 1930 to 1960 in wealthy people's formal gardens necessarily apply to the modern concept of gardens made by small-scale owner-gardeners. Reading the book might stoke ordinary gardeners’ anxieties about the "tastefulness" of their gardens (some might condescendingly quip that this wouldn’t be a bad thing, but I don't agree that inhibiting people from enjoying their gardens is beneficial).The book will obviously be most useful for landscape designers and probably should be required reading for those in training to be such. It’s an important primary document for garden historians and would also be of interest to students of architectural history.Despite my reservations about the book, I'm glad I read it; I learn something from reading any autobiography. But I don't think that it will change how I garden or how I look at gardens, as this classic book seems to have done for many readers before me.(For a more detailed review with photos, please visit my blog at gardenfancy.blogspot.)

There's been no better book written about the art of designing a beautiful landscape, IMO. While few of us can relate to mansions on the Riveria or expansive town gardens in Paris, the principles Mr. Page talks about are an accessible distillation of a lifetime of intense planting, looking and thinking. If nothing else, experiencing this rigorous and disciplined artist is an incredible inspiration.

My introduction to Russell Page was in Michael Pollan's "Second Nature: A Gardener's Education," a book about gardening and grandparents applied to the philosophy of living. Pollan's praise of Russell Page stirred my curiosity, and since I couldn't get Page's book through my local library's state network, I ordered a copy from Amazon. And I haven't been disappointed. Page was a 20th century English genius who studied, designed and planted gardens around the world. His book describes his life as a garden creator, both in terms of sites and plants but also in terms of the mental process involved. As with Temple Grandin describing her mental processes involved in building stockyard facilities, the insight into mental genius provides inspiration for broadening my mind's problem-solving aptitude.

Very well written, a bit longwinded for the average garden lover, but there are very useful tips too. The last chapter, about his imaginery dream garden is quite delicious, makes wading through the book absolutely worthwhile

Not sure what other people saw in this book but it seemed a bit of a boring book. Passed it on to others and maybe they might see the redeeming quality.