Beatrix Farrand worked as a consultant and designer for more than 200 gardens, including the famous Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC, and on the campuses of Yale and Princeton Universities. Among her many clients were the Rockefellers, the Morgans and the White House. But while she was respected in the social circles of her friend Henry James and her aunt Edith Wharton, her professional achievements remained largely unrecognized. This study reveals a passionate and accomplished professional who overcame a tumultuous family background in the pursuit of her craft. Using Farrand's own drawings and plans, the book shows that where her contemporaries were still turning to well-known European fashions, Farrand was creating an original style that America could call its own. This social history and examination of Farrand's life seeks to place her in her rightful position as one of America's pre-eminent landscape designers.