Meet the Women Behind Some of the World’s Most Beautiful Gardens
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While names such as André Le Nôtre, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Russell Page dominate discussions of landscape design, women have made significant contributions to the field. Kristina Taylor’s new book, Women Garden Designers: 1900 to the Present ( Garden Art Press, $70), catalogues their outstanding creations, from Gertrude Jekyll’s lush formal garden at Upton Grey to Haruko Seki’s minimalist plantings. Click through to see work by female gardeners throughout history.
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Considered by many to be the most influential female gardener in history, Gertrude Jekyll was known for her artistic eye, mix of formal and informal gardens, and collaborations with noted architects such as Sir Edwin Lutyens. Her work at Upton Grey, which was later restored by Rosamund Wallinger, is shown here.
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Norah Lindsay designed the gardens at Blickling in Norfolk, England, for Philip Kerr, the Marquess of Lothian. They were later restored by the National Trust.
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Writer and garden designer Vita Sackville-West is known for her two iconic creations, Long Barn and Sissinghurst in Kent, England. The moat walk at Sissinghurst, a 16th-century castle renovated by Sackville-West and her husband, Harold Nicolson, is shown here.
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South African landscape designer Joane Pim worked on the garden at Brenthurst in Johannesburg for 25 years, adding an arched bridge, stone paths, and a labyrinth-like rose garden.
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German landscape designer Herta Hammerbacher worked on over 3,500 projects during her career. This sunken garden was created at the home of plantsman Karl Foerster in 1937.
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Maria Teresa Parpagliolo Shephard, an Italian garden designer, planned the landscape surrounding the Rome Cavalieri Hotel (formerly the Hilton) in 1963.
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Self-taught British designer Rosemary Verey created this tunnel of laburnum and wisteria at her home at Barnsley House in Gloucestershire, England. During her career she also worked on commissions for Prince Charles and Elton John.
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Born in Germany and based in Canada, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander has designed numerous innovative public spaces, from a playground at Expo 67 in Montreal to the atrium at the New York Times Building, shown here, which features birch trees, ferns, and grasses.
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In 1990 the Duchess of Westminster commissioned garden designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd to create the master plan for the gardens at Eaton Hall, including this lush rose garden, which consists of four “rooms” divided by hedges.
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American garden designer Nancy Goslee Power’s specialty is planning landscapes suited to California’s climate and lifestyle. Power has collaborated with architect Frank Gehry on a number of his projects, including the garden of his Santa Monica home, seen here.
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Christopher “Topher” Delaney’s work combines contemporary art and garden design. For 2007’s In the Line of Fire, Delaney removed most of this garden’s existing plants except for a magnolia tree, which is bordered on two sides by lines of flames rising from granite.
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Brazilian garden designer Isabel Duprat was commissioned by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to complete the landscaping at its BankBoston building in São Paulo. The design was inspired by the work of her mentor Roberto Burle Marx.
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London-based Jinny Blom designed a garden to complement the views of the surrounding countryside at an estate in Oxfordshire, England.