Book Reviews: Private Gardens of the Mediterranean

This lavish 194-page tome details the work of celebrated landscape architect Jean Mus, a graduate of the École Nationale Superiéure du Paysage in Versailles. For the last three decades Mus has been creating parks and gardens both around the world and along the Mediterranean shores, and it’s the latter which is chronicled here, with photography by the late Vincent Motte.

There are 19 gardens covered within, split across five sections, covering gardens in different locations and sizes, or designed with a specific theme or purpose in mind. Each is described at length by the author, magazine editor Dane McDowell, and interspersed with quotes from Mus, who explains the logic of the conception and construction of his design.

It’s a fascinating insight into the landscape gardener’s mind and a rich source of inspiration, although it would have been improved with plan views of the gardens in question, to give a sense of the flow of the layout.

From France Today magazine