George Plumptre seeks to distil the elusive essence of good garden design by examining the gardens of some of our greatest garden designers. He sets the scene by charting the course of contemporary garden design from the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th century to the present day. Against this background is set the work of 15 great designers - from Gertrude Jekyll and Edward Lutyens to Lawrence Johnston and Vita Sackville-West to Wolfgang Oehme and James van Sweden - in over 30 gardens - from the well-known such as Hidcote, Leeds Castle and Sissinghurst to exotic gardens in the USA. The themes, ideas and lessons that emerge from these gardens are then drawn together in a final section that presents the essence of good garden design for all kinds of gardens - large and small, formal and natural.