Pros: Off the Beaten path information for a more interesting view of gardens
Cons: Kind of large size to carry around with you to the gardens
The Bottom Line: Not exactly the most portable guide, but the information in it on the gardens makes it well worth bringing along or at least reading it a few times before going.
kjscrafts's Full Review: Barbara H. Seeber - A City of Gardens: Glorious Pu...
This book is a wonderful collection of information on gardens that are open to the public to visit in the Washington, D.C. area. The book features 23 different gardens broken into 4 different sections. The Historic Estates section includes in depth parts about gardens that were once part of private estates such as Mount Vernon, George Washington's home. Sites such as the United States Botanical Gardens and United States National Arboretum are featured in the Botanic Gardens part. One of the more interesting sections is the Contemplation Gardens section that describes gardens such as the Franciscan Monastery Gardens. Lastly included is a section about Parks, which includes the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin area with its annual Cherry Blossom Festival.
What I love about this travel guide style book is that it does not try to fit a bunch of places into it and instead devotes several pages to each place describing the gardens in depth. This really helps you determine if it is something you want to see, as well as how long you need to devote to visiting the different gardens. Each entry gives a brief history of the garden, a detail way to tour the garden, information on the highlights of the garden, basic information such as hours, directions on how to get here including public transportation routes when possible, and my favorite the Off the Beaten Path section for each garden.
An award-winning garden writer and gardening expert offers 30 of Washington, DC's most glorious gardens to visitors and locals - complete with signatu...More at Alibris
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