American Gardens of the Nineteenth Century: For Comfort and Affluence [Paperback]

American Gardens of the Nineteenth Centuryis the final of three authoritative volumes of garden history by Ann Leighton. This witty and detailed book focuses on nineteenth-century gardens and gardening. Leighton's material for the book was drawn from letters, books, and other primary sources. Throughout the book are reproductions of contemporary illustrations and descriptive listings of native and new plants that were cultivated during the nineteenth century. Leighton gives much attention to influential people such as plant explorers and designers of public parks. Not only does she record the development of gardening, but she also shows the historical growth and change in nineteenth-century America.

Companion volumes by Ann Leighton

Early American Gardens For Meate or Medicine
American Gardens in the Eighteenth Century For Use or for Delight

ANN LEIGHTONwas the professional name of Isadore Smith (19021985), the renowned garden historian, scholar, author, designer and landscape architect who, with Catherine C. Kitty Weeks, designed the colonial-themed gardens at the Weeks Brick House in Greenland, New Hampshire, in 1977. Among many commissions, Smith designed the garden at the 1677 Whipple House in Ipswich, Massachusetts, which is owned by the Ipswich Historical Society. Smith neatly summed up the staying power of her subject matter in a brief book-jacket teaser: While buildings may decay and crumble, the plants of every age are still with us and need only to be collected and replanted to speak for the time and its people.

Leighton combines impeccable and original scholarship, broad and deep knowledge of plants, and a clean prose style that is delightful to read.New York Times Book Review

Leighton's trilogy on American gardens and gardening of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries conveys the author's profound respect and admiration for her subject. Quoting letters, books, and lS�