Nature into Art

August 30, 2019

Horticultural columnist, journalist, author, and editor (The New American Landscape: Leading Voices on the Future of Sustainable Gardening) Christopher and photographer Ngo present the history and beauty of Wave Hill Gardens in New York City. Located in the Bronx along the Hudson River, overlooking the Palisades, Wave Hill is the 28-acre former estate of businessman and politician George W. Perkins, which was donated to the city of New York in 1960. An introductory narrative of the family's history and the pioneering gardening staff is followed by in-depth exploration of key features that comprise the landscape. These areas are highlighted with information about the chosen plants, innovative experimentation, horticultural techniques, building restorations, and landscape design. The text is accompanied by an array of remarkable photographs that capture the individualistic character of these splendid gardens throughout the seasons. VERDICT Christopher successfully brings the unique aspects of Wave Hill to life. This recommended book, part of a Timber Press series that spotlights outstanding public gardens, will appeal to garden historians, hobbyists, and landscape designers.--Deborah A. Broocker, Georgia Perimeter Coll. Lib., Dunwoody

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2019
Horticultural journalist Christopher introduces readers to a historic, gloriously diverse, 28-acre public garden in Manhattan's northern neighbor, the Bronx. Wave Hill was once the home of Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt, and Arturo Toscanini, and commands a breathtaking view of the Palisades cliffs across the Hudson River. Christopher, coauthor of the excellent Garden Revolution (2016), explores the overall thinking behind this public garden, along with the plantings in the several discrete gardens that comprise Wave Hill, from the Wild Garden to the Flower Garden to the Monocot and Aquatic Gardens to the Conservatory. And while Ngoc Minh Ngo's fulsome color photographs illustrate those thought processes of the garden's designers, Christopher bestows specificity to the plants depicted by nearly always including their genus names. The scope of this volume might be too narrow for all gardening collections, but it gives this remarkable garden in the Bronx its full due.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)