Gardens grow in the mind and the spirit as much as in the soil. Our western culture offers so much garden literature to the collector who is interested in the Eden-like connection between the inner and outer world, where the garden is both a personal and cultural vision. Possibly the most classic expression of an earthly Eden comes from one of the pre-eminent minds of Western civilization, Sir Francis Bacon, born in London in 1561. It is a good place to begin. 1. Bacon, Francis. OF GARDENS. (ca. 1625). This brief essay is part of the author's ESSAYES, a series that began in 1597 and grew to contain 58 essays by 1625. "Of Gardens" painted a vivid portrait of a late Tudor ideal. Bacon calls a garden "the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man". In just a few passages, he describes his ideal garden, how it should be configured, where lig... [more Ten Gardening Books for New Collectors]
Blog posts by Ann Marie Wall
Ann Marie Wall has been an antiquarian bookseller since the 1970s. Together with her husband, Jim Hinck, she has developed a specialty in the field of garden history. She has published dozens of catalogues on that subject over the years as well as establishing a website devoted specifically to books on gardens: www.gardenhistory.com. Always in search of good books and great gardens, Ann Marie and Jim lived in Newport, R.I., Washington, D.C., and Paris, France before settling in their current home in Cambridge, England. Hinck & Wall are privileged to maintain their American ties through the ABAA.