Author and journalist Sandra Lawrence takes readers on a tour of 40 horticultural gems from around the world that have been lost either through neglect, abandonment or destruction.

Thank you Quarto Publishing & Netgalley for making this available on Netgalley as a Read Now book! I enjoyed reading this book and looking at the pictures of the gardens. If you’re interested in reading about gardens then I would recommend reading this book.

This is a great book for gardening/horticulture fans. It includes very detailed descriptions of ‘lost gardens’ with a nice illustration for each. I do wish there had been a bit more illustration as the text did seem dense at times. Overall, a very interesting read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you Frances Lincoln and NetGalley for the eARC of Lost Gardens of the World! All opinions in this review are my own.

I was fascinated by this book because of the concept of a "lost garden" and then I was even more interested when I learned that it is possible to uncover these gardens much like an archeologist!

The illustrations in this book are beautiful and I like that the gardens discussed are from all over the world. I also like that the author updates the reader on any conservation efforts for the gardens.

Perfect coffee table book! Not only is it beautiful, it’s also an interesting read. Thank you Quarto for granting me an ARC!

Lost Gardens of the World gave a fascinating insight into beautiful gardens of bygone eras and the people and cultures that shaped them. I found the information provided rich and interesting. The illustrations were lush and added depth to the text. I only wish that there had been more of them!

This book is perfect for history and horticulture fans! Each garden included in this book has a beautiful illustration and a brief overview of the garden from when it was thriving to any restoration efforts made. I found this book interesting but would have liked to see more information on the flora and fauna of the gardens.

To be perfectly frank I have no idea who the target audience for this book is.

A more casual audience will soon bore from the lack of illustrations acting as a guide for the detailed written descriptions. The illustrations provided while beautiful soon become highly repetitive and have an incredibly dull color palette.

A more knowledgeable audience will soon be picking this book apart, or at best, just enjoying the beautiful cover art as it sits forgotten about on the bookshelf.

I picked this book up because of the pretty cover and hoped to expand my knowledge of historic gardens, especially since the book promised to take us through gardens that have been lost to time. A quick flip through the book proves this premise to be wrong. In fact, with the exception of at most two gardens (and one of those is because its private property), you can visit every single one in this book. Almost lost to time, yes, many of these beautiful gardens have almost been lost, some truly rediscovered by accident, but not lost to where we only have historic records and illustrations.

The descriptions of each garden are correct and go into a nice amount of detail for being limited to only few pages. But those descriptions rely on a lot of outside knowledge that is not explained within the book.

For example, if you are already familiar with Lancelot "Capability" Brown then you will know that Painshill Park's landscape garden is so historic because of the fact that it is essentially the only English Landscape Garden that Capability Brown did not have a hand in creating . But if you have no idea who Capability Brown is, then the passing reference will be lost, and so will the historical significance of Painshill Park (you will probably also have no idea what the definition of a landscape garden, folley, grotto, etc. are either, and all of the descriptions will be lost without keeping a search browser open nearby) . Which frankly, is a shame considering how beautifully the garden has been restored and has even been featured most prominently in season three of Bridgerton.

Keeping with Painshill Park as an example, the accompanying illustration (limit one per garden) is honestly a let down. It depicts probably the worst follies in the park to draw using what appears to be colored pencils. (The art itself is lovely and shows good technical skills and personal style from a highly acclaimed illustration artist) But why draw the Crystal Grotto in a way that takes up over two thirds of the page with just grey spikes that barely shows a view of the artificial lake and covers up one of the Gothic follies with bushy trees that take up the rest of the limited space. It makes for a very foreboding and dark view of what is a very open airy and beautiful garden that sprawls for over 158 acres. While the description at least gives a running list of all of the different things to see in the park, there are no mini illustrations to illuminate what the author is talking about.

This I feel is the biggest failing of the book. The illustrations seem to draw inspiration mostly from the top few search results for each garden, draw the main feature in beige and then fill in the majority of the page with green leafy branches or ferns. Some of the most colorful gardens are drawn practically in monotone, while the most colorful have been intentionally left dull and missing major details. Of course everyone will have their own view on what makes a garden beautiful but these illustrations dull down the current existing states of each garden.

For a book highlighting forgotten gardens I was expecting the illustrations to be imaginings of the gardens in their prime, not drawings of how the gardens currently look right now, which is mostly as some form of crumbling ruin (which is beautiful in its own way).

If I was gifted this book I would cherish it, especially as I find the cover illustration to be beautiful, but I barely learned anything from this book. I would not recommend to casual garden enthusiasts as I feel it will be more confusing that helpful. And to seasoned historic garden enjoyers this book is a waste of time, especially if you have any experience studying historic gardens in an academic setting. The illustrations are not even enjoyable enough as a whole to make this worthy of a coffee table book.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion for the opportunity to read an ARC copy of this book.

A tour of gardens once lost and those yet to be found

Like opening an ivy-shrouded gate to a secret bower, this illustrated guide invites you to go and find these places for yourself. Not all have been returned to their glory but the chase is as important as the arrival. With too many gardens to choose from, this lovely book is likely to inspire you to search out more and see if they even exist any more.

Three and a half stars

This book is interesting and the drawings are gorgeous! I think anyone who has an appreciation for botanical gardens and history would find this book alluring.

Lost Gardens of the World by Sandra Lawrence is my dream book. Since I was a little girl, secret and hidden gardens have caused my heart to pitter patter. In fact, as a child while shelling peas I regaled my wide-eyed siblings with made-up stories about hidden staircases disappearing into underground candy shops, libraries and gardens. They believed me for a time. Why not take that further as adults, seeking whimsy and fantasy in gardens, architecture, ruins, tree trunks and caves?

As an adult I seek hidden gardens and other treasures on my travels which take me to places of wonder, including several in this book. Forty abandoned and forgotten gardens are the focus, some which have forever faded into obscurity, others which are undergoing restoration. Illustrations for each garden are easily recognizable, especially those I've visited and read about.

Influences such as weather, disease, wildlife and humans can literally change garden landscapes and are discussed here. Between garden chapters are informative pages about gardens such as seed banks, hermitages, follies and garden rooms.

Amongst my favourite gardens in life and in this book are the impossibly exquisite Villa Adriana in Italy which was supplied by aqueducts, Les Hortillonnages in France and its islands, Paleis Het Loo in the Netherlands with ties to royalty and designed by garden archaeologists, and Schönbrunn Palace mazes in Vienna (I once got lost in a garden maze in Scotland!). I would love to visit the subterranean gardens and grottoes of Dewston in Wales and Painshill Landscape Garden in England and many more.

As a master gardener, I enjoy learning about anything horticulture related but this is a book for anyone and everyone intrigued by lost gardens.

My sincere thank you to Quarto Publishing Group-White Lion and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this enchanting book. As there are thousands of such places, my hope is for a lost gardens book series. The possibilities are breathtaking.

A great combination of stunning illustrations and obscure history, this book would be at home on any garden lover's bookshelf. It has dozens of lost gardens, from those that were lost over a thousand years ago to those that faded into disrepair within the last century. There's a brief overview of each garden's history, from the first planting to any restoration efforts that are being made. Also, did you know that there are garden archaeologists? Sounds awesome. And, sounds like they're doing good work. This is also an interesting history book because so many of the gardens' rises and falls mirror bigger events, or royal families' histories. It also includes snippets of broader garden history, like the history of fake stone and garden hermits as an employment option. Very fun book.

This is a beautiful book that will awaken the child dreaming of secret gardens in you.

Since I visited the Paronella park in Australia as teen I have been enamored with savage gardens and follies and ruins and general places humans created but that fell into the hands of nature. There is something fascinating about those and this book is here to pick up the magic. Best of all, Paronella park is very much featured in those beautiful pages.

The illustrations are beautiful and probably the big highlight of the book, making it perfect as a coffee table decoration and gift.

Arc Review:
Overall Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cover Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You can tell that a lot of research went into this book, and it really payed off. I have to say that my favourite thing about this book is all the pictures that go along with the book they just make the whole reading experience better.

Thank you NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and Sandra Lawrence for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This book is absolutely gorgeous and includes some really interesting information on gardens around the world. The illustrations are beautiful as well. I highly recommend picking this one up when it releases!

Lost Gardens of the World by Sandra Lawrence takes you on a journey through some of the world's most intriguing and forgotten gardens. Blending history with horticulture, the book uncovers the stories behind these once-beautiful spaces. With gorgeous illustrations and interesting tales, it showcases the creativity of past garden designers. It's a great read for garden enthusiasts and history buffs alike, celebrating the legacy of these incredible, overlooked gardens.

The amount of research that went into this book is astounding, it covers such minute details and facts about every place it covers! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, being immersed into the history of man-made green oasis all around the world. Every story is accompanied by beautiful illustrations that add to the ambiance. Anyone interested in gardening, nature or travel will enjoy this book.

A beautiful book that feels like being brought on a journey of discovery. This is a very informative book about many gardens from around the world with gorgeous illustrations

A garden book without photographs? Yes, and it works thanks to the amazing narrative written by Lawrence, who evokes times and places long past. Simply beautiful

Thank you, Frances Lincoln, for the ARC.

The book is highly informative regarding some of the best known gardens of the world including Las Pozas in Mexico, the Garden of dreams in Nepal and some more!

You will be surprised and shocked at the same time reading about these gardens as I am right now.

The illustrations are well done and the descriptions well written.

However, I felt that the illustrations are a bit repetitive otherwise.

Regardless, the book delivers!

Anyone who's interested in gardening will want to read this book. The stories have a "Gardeners World" type feeling as I read them and just made me feel cozy and like I was being brought along a tour of forgotten hidden gems in the world.