Ouldolf is a Dutch landscape designer who has become internationally recognized for his innovative use of grasses and perennials for ground-breaking (get it!) private and public gardens and parks. This beautiful volume is creatively organized according to the size of the garden, from 350 sq meter private garden in Holland to a massive 25,000 square meter private home in Nantucket. Ouldolf’s perhaps best known garden, the Lurie Garden which is part of the Millenium Park in Chicago, weighs in at a measly 10,000 square meters. This is a wonderful book to curl up with on a winter’s night, as I did in Vermont with 16 degree temperatures outdoors and Thanksgiving is two weeks away.  There is something for everyone—-beautiful photographs of the actual gardens and close ups of the individual plants and plant combinations, schematic drawings of the spaces and which plants go where, and text which contains the names of the plants and their optimal use and neighbors.  Great book.

Shop your local indie bookstore