"Some may argue that garden styles have barely changed in 1,000 years, with trends simply coming and going along the way, but when you have the gallery of a renowned garden photographer to view, you know you will see something different. This book is published as a companion to Garden Design: A Book of Ideas by the same authors, but stands solidly on its own feet. Majerus photographs draw you in witll a rich sense of time and place, and Howcroft elaborates on each with the precision you expect from a well-honed landscape architect, giving planting detail and design breakdown in crisp, clear fashion. Case studies illustrate each style, and there are additional chapters on colour, styling and lighting. In the introduction, Howcroft provides loose style guidelines and advises readers to be realistic but open to a merging of styles to suit your needs. I love her idea of putting a photo of your household on a mood board of chosen images to see if you 'fit' the picture. The genius of this book is that the photos lead the way, with much of the text taking the form of expanded captions to explain their context. The photos tell the story in a very user-friendly fashion, and there is a worldwide feel to the book, which offers up some real delights, including Majerus's own garden in Luxembourg.

There are some stunning British gardens, too, such as Jane Brockbank's design for a tricky, L-shaped garden that manages to squeaze in a pool and a garden room among the shade-loving planting. Whether purchased as an indulgent coffee-table book or an inspirational sourcebook, Garden Style could be equally useful to designers, landscapers and architects as a mood board to illustrate styles and help clients visualise their thoughts. I recommend reading this book several times: once for the pure indulgence of the glorious photography, again to absorb the description of each style, and yet again to enjoy lhe inspirational ideas." --GARDENS ILLUSTRAED.