Gardeners have been growing fruits and vegetables for thousands of years, and kitchen gardens are enjoying a sort of renaissance. Now, garden historian Dr. Toby Musgrove offers a global history and survey of these special gardens in his latest book, The Kitchen Garden (Phaidon Press Inc., 2026). In the introduction to the book, Musgrove notes that kitchen gardens have gone in and out of fashion, but “…the kitchen garden is most certainly chic in the twenty-first century.”
In the following pages, Musgrove profiles more than 50 gardens around the world, from the Huertas del Generalife in Granada, Spain, to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, King Charles III’s garden at Highgrove, and private gardens in the United States, France, South Africa, and Denmark. Each entry includes a brief description of the garden and its design (and designers), along with gorgeous photos that will inspire gardeners everywhere to carve out even a small space to install some edibles … many far more ornamental than you might imagine.
The Coastal Garden (Phaidon Press Inc., 2026) by NIgel Dunnett
In this new book, the late British designer, plantsman, and author Nigel Dunnett offers a comprehensive survey of coastal gardens around the world, featuring 48 gardens from six continents. The book is divided into four chapters, each one focusing on a different aspect of the coastal environment: gardens planted at the edge of rocky cliffs; gardens that frame ocean views; gardens that foster resilience in fragile habitats; and gardens on the beach.
Despite the growing threat of climate change, this volume will make you want to move to the coast. As Dunnett explains in the introduction, “We all feel the pull of the coast. It’s a place we are drawn to, that thin strip where the land runs out and the vastness of the ocean begins. As both an end and a beginning, it’s full of intrigue and possibility, myth and mystery … ” He continues, “The gardens in this book are all at the forefront of dealing with extreme climatic conditions, and they point the way forward for the rest of us.”
You’ll be inspired by Dan Hinkley’s “Windcliff”, carved into a rocky bluff in Indianola, Washington,USA, over a couple of decades. The views from designer Louis Benech’s garden in Brittany, France, will simply take your breath away, and you’ll be amazed at the Ermioni Garden in Greece fashioned with drought-tolerant plantings by landscape architect Jennifer Gay. And who wouldn’t want a beach front property as designed by STIMSON in MIddletown, Rhode Island, USA.
Dunnet includes a brief description of each garden, along with photos that will inspire almost anyone with a residence along any coast in the world.
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