Gardens Of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley

Gardens Of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley by William M. Klein Jr.. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781566393133.

Once mostly rolling hills and valleys covered with hardwood forest in the seventeenth century, contemporary Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley now claim the largest concentration of many of the finest public and private gardens in the world. William M. Klein explores the broader attitudes and behaviors toward nature that have influenced this developmentt—of colonial farms and gardens created for survival to the art of suburban gardens to nature conservatories and public parks. Discover how in 300 years we have moved from fencing nature out to fencing nature in. Out of the past, examine the worm fence at Colonial Pennsylvania Plantations, overgrown by weeds as it would have been during Colonial times, zigzagging across the fields tenuously holding back the great forest that presses down. Into the present, consider the chain link fence at the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum that bounds a threatened wetland habitat from the intrusion of highways and reverberates to the sounds of traffic from I-95 and the Philadelphia International Airport. Kleins eloquent and knowledgeable narrative include detailed portraits of forty-four individual gardens, all lustrously illustrated by noted garden photographer Derek Fell. While considering a particular gardens historical and social influences, Klein discusses the philosophy behind each garden, its planners goals and even personality, and the gardens interaction with surrounding architecture. This complete guide also includes each locations address, phone number, hours of operation, events, and featured plants, flowers, and trees. Yet this book goes far beyond the usual guides in this search for answers to the perennial questions of how and why each generation struggles to define its place in nature. As we approach the twenty-first century, the garden has become the metaphor for how we must begin to view all nature today—tended space where we collect, name, nurture, and share our love of plants.