Presents the key designers and innovators who have shaped the development of gardens from 1600 to the present day. This book starts with the early professionals such as the Tradescants and Charles Bridgeman; architects whose brief extended beyond the house, notably William Kent and Sir John Vanbrugh; aristocratic virtuosos such as Sir Francis Dashwood; Victorian entrepreneurs such as Sir Joseph Paxton in Britain and Frederick Law Olmstead in America; and other notables like Vita Sackville-West, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe and Penelope Hobhouse. The book also provides an account of the degree of influence and cooperation between British and American gardeners which has existed since the Tradescants first travelled to the new colonies in the mid-17th century. George Plumptre's other books include Royal Gardens, Collin's Book of British Gardens, The Latest Country Gardens and Garden Ornament.