Lonely Planet The Joy of Exploring Gardens: 60 travel experiences to uplift and inspire: 1 Hardcover – 15 Sept. 2023

Beautiful photos & keenly observed descriptions of gardens all over the world, been to some & since getting this fab title will plan to visit more. The cover is very attractive.. bought another copy as a gift for a friend.

Gorgeous book with lovely pictures.

A guide such as this will always be a bit subjective - beauty is in the eye of the beholder - and each garden isn't given all that much space for pictures and information so it's necessary to condense and possibly omit.That being said, this is a gorgeous 'coffee table' book, with details of some of the most spectacular gardens in the world (allegedly). I've been to one of them - Hellbrunn Palace Gardens just outside Salzburg in Austria, so I was interested to read what Lonely Planet have to say about them.The basic information is there - where the gardens are, how to get there, who built them and what you can expect once you're there, but some basic information is a bit lacking. What the book doesn't say is that the loveliest and most tranquil way to travel to the gardens is by boat from Salzburg - what an omission! It also doesn't say that they were a location for 'The Sound of Music' - I'm not a fan of the film, but millions are so it's probably worth mentioning.Knowing what's been omitted about Hellbrunn it does make me a little concerned about other omissions, though having not been to those other places I wouldn't know, and that, I think, is important to remember. I think this book is best used as a starting point. This book isn't a guide to any of the gardens it's more of an awareness raiser - a few beautiful pictures, some basic information and planting the seed of 'I'd like to go there'.At £16.19 for the hardback version (as at 23 September 2023) this isn't overly expensive for a beautifully illustrated coffee table book that might spark a few ideas of somewhere to visit if you're in the vicinity or are thinking of travelling there. Nice to have, but not a definitive guide.

The media could not be loaded. The Lonely Planet – The Joy of Exploring Gardens “features 60 in-depth profiles of the world’s most spectacular gardens, plus 120 travel ideas for must visit garden ideas”.This 272 page book is packed with glorious full colour photographs to enrich the mind and soul. The cover of the book is beautifully illustrated with what looks to me like a Clarice Cliff style design. The words and images have an embossed 3-D effect. The cover is very enticing making you want to dip in straight away.The book is divided into Continents, and each of the suggested gardens has a “Find Your Joy” section which gives a brief description regarding how to get there, accessibility, when to go, and further information. All of this is essential information for the would-be traveller. I also liked the “Don’t Miss” hints and tips, such as photographic opportunities, and hidden gems – things which you may not have noticed had you not read the book beforehand ! It also tells you what each garden is famed for, be it a feeling of calm, a rockery, bonsai, alpines, birdsong etc. The photographs vary in size from two page spreads to smaller thumbnails. All the photos are bright and vibrant, and the photographers certainly deserve high praise.Although I have rarely travelled, I do love my garden, and although I will probably never see many of the gardens listed here, it did not diminish my joy in looking at the stunning photographs. The flora, fauna and architecture is a feast for the eyes.This is the first title I have had from The Lonely Planet, and it definitely did not disappoint.This book would make a wonderful gift for a gardener, traveller or would be a perfect retirement gift providing inspiration and ideas. It also makes a lovely coffee table book.Thank you for reading my review, and I hope you have found it helpful.

Lonely Planet's 'The Joy of Exploring Gardens' is a stylishly presented hardback that would be perfect for gifting. Though Lonely Planet is a brand much associated with travel guides, this book could be equally suitable for armchair travellers who love gardens - though all the information's there should you decide to pay a visit to any of the many worldwide locations featured, including whether they're wheelchair-friendly.This book is also rather sumptuous - packed with photographs of the gardens and plenty of first-hand impressions from contributors who've actually visited them.In some ways, gardeners are a little like cooks. They turn to books for inspiration, especially in the winter months in the case of gardeners when here in the UK there's less needing attending to. In this book, there are 120 gardens featured from all continents of the world.Gardens can be sanctuaries. They may, as a consequence, be strangely intimate as they're such a personal vision - however they look and feel. It's inescapable that the whole point about any garden is that it's a managed enterprise and, without people, would not be a garden at all but simply an unremarkable patch of scrubland.Plants return year after year only as long as the people do - making for a poignancy perhaps that's in the air of every garden I've ever visited. The thing about gardens is that, just like books, they make you think. But at the same time, they fully involve all the senses so being in a garden can be a much more immersive, connected experience than many areas of modern life.Good gardens don't try to compete with their location. They go with the flow, with the soil type and climate and, mirroring natural life, they gradually evolve. In the UK we are lucky to have many gardens that have continued long past the brief lives of their often famous or moneyed creators but in most cases, our small plots have a natural tendency to revert back to nature once the gardener's departed.The fleeting nature of life itself is at the core of any garden - and maybe this is why we humans feel so at home in them. The occasional flash I get of oddly incongruous day lilies below a hawthorn hedge on our local lanes is but a remembrance of things past - a cottage garden may once have stood there - and my heart always skips a beat when I'm driving along and see their colour leap out.