Now available for the first time in paperback, the magnificent Oxford Companion to the Garden illuminates the history and design of gardens all over the world, from the earliest recorded known examples to the present day, encompassing everything from small private gardens, to the secret gardens of Arab princes, to the vast public park at Versailles. With hundreds of photographs and illustrations, the book"s broad sweep make it the perfect reference for garden-lovers everywhere, offering in 1,750 alphabetical entries wide-ranging coverage that sheds light on virtually every aspect of the topic. The writing is authoritative and engaging and there are sumptuous color photographs by some of the world"s best garden photographers as well as elegant engravings of historical subjects. Well over half of the entries are devoted to individual gardens, many of them open to the public. These include every kind of garden from palace gardens to botanic gardens and arboreta, late 20th-century...