Genius In The Garden

This acclaimed biography of 19th century scientist Gregor Mendel is “a fascinating tale of the strange twists and ironies of scientific progress” (Publishers Weekly). A National Book Critics Circle Award finalist In The Monk in the Garden, award-winning author Robin Marantz Henig vividly chronicles the birth of genetics, a field that continues to challenge the way we think about life itself. Tending to his pea plants in a monastery garden, the Moravian monk Gregor Mendel discovered the foundational principles of genetic inheritance. But Mendel’s work was ignored during his lifetime, even though it answered the most pressing questions raised by Charles Darwin's revolutionary book, On the Origin of Species. Thirty-five years after his death, Mendel’s work was saved from obscurity when three scientists from three different countries nearly simultaneously dusted off his groundbreaking paper and finally recognized its profound significance. From the perplexing silence that greeted his discovery to his ultimate canonization as the father of genetics, Henig presents a tale filled with intrigue, jealousy, and a healthy dose of bad timing. Though little is known about Mendel’s life, she "has done a remarkable job of fleshing out the myth with what few facts there are" (Washington Post Book World).

A garden classic, The Genius of the Place reveals that the history of landscape gardening is much more than a history of design and style; it opens up a wide perspective of English cultural history, showing how landscape gardening was gradually transformed over two centuries into an art that has been widely imitated throughout Europe and North America. The English landscape garden is richly documented in this anthology. Over 100 illustrations accompany writings that range from Francis Bacon to Jane Austin; from the early 1600s, when Englishmen began to determine their own concept and form of the garden, through the first half of the eighteenth century when its distinctive feature emerged, to the heyday of the landscape garden under "Capability" Brown and the reactions to his pure formalism under Repton and Loudon in the 1800s. This edition contains a new introduction and bibliography covering the many developments in garden history during the last dozen years.

Hip hop poetry.

Born in 1900, Geoffrey Jellicoe's working life spans virtually all the main developments in landscape and garden design of the 20th century; this thoughtful study of his contributions to these disciplines reveals the origins and forms of his genius. Influences on his work have ranged from the writings of ancient Greeks to those of Carl Jung, and from classical art to Jackson Pollock, and these, together with his own particular vision, have given Jellicoe's work an individuality and style that is internationally recognised. While the significance of the worlds of art and ideas concerning the way man handles landscape can never be underestimated, in the work of Geoffrey Jellicoe we can see such interaction heightened to a thought-provoking level where we not only appreciate his work, but also question our own attitudes to our surroundings. The author, himself an architect, records Jellicoe's education at the Architectural Association, and his early days in Italy with fellow architectural student Jock Shepherd which resulted in 1925 in the seminal work Italian Gardens of the Renaissance. Spens then traces architecture to landscape design, as illustrated by his work, first at Cheddar Gorge and then at Ditchley Park. Through discussion of private garden commissions, such as those at Shute House and Sutton Place, and public projects like the renowned Kennedy Memorial at Runnymede, the Cheltenham and Turin sports complexes, and the monumental plans for the Moody Historical Gardens at Galveston, Texas, the author assesses Jellicoe's approach to the individual project and its existing landscape, and examines the symbolism and varied influences behind his thinking. This book is unique as the first detailed study to explore the genius of a world-famous master in this field. It is essential reading for those interested in the history of landscape architecture in the 20th century, and for all students of the theory and practice of landscape and garden design. 94 colour & 155 b/w illustrations

Celebrated landscape architect Gilles Clément may be best known for his public parks in Paris, including the Parc André Citroën and the garden of the Musée du Quai Branly, but he describes himself as a gardener. To care for and cultivate a plot of land, a capable gardener must observe in order to act and work with, rather than against, the natural ecosystem of the garden. In this sense, he suggests, we should think of the entire planet as a garden, and ourselves as its keepers, responsible for the care of its complexity and diversity of life. "The Planetary Garden" is an environmental manifesto that outlines Clément's interpretation of the laws that govern the natural world and the principles that should guide our stewardship of the global garden of Earth. These are among the tenets of a humanist ecology, which posits that the natural world and humankind cannot be understood as separate from one another. This philosophy forms a thread that is woven through the accompanying essays of this volume: "Life, Constantly Inventive: Reflections of a Humanist Ecologist" and "The Wisdom of the Gardener." Brought together and translated into English for the first time, these three texts make a powerful statement about the nature of the world and humanity's place within it.