American Roots

This is a gorgeous book! I loved all the photos for garden inspiration, the stories of the gardeners, and the little extras like names and pictures of plants each gardener recommends and tips they have related to their gardens. The gardeners are divided up by American region, making it easy to see gardens that grow in conditions similar to yours. It's nice seeing gardens like an urban wildflower garden from Lincoln, Nebraska, instead of just manicured gardens from more famous garden regions. There's a huge range of styles of gardens and they're gorgeous but also accessible. A great read and great eye candy for gardeners of all types.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

Truly an enjoyable book if you like gardens and gardening at all. The photos are gorgeous with descriptions for many of the plants. I appreciate lots of native plants being included. I was pleasantly surprised to be familiar with several of the well known gardeners included in this book and well as some who were new to me.
I received an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader's copy of this publication.

This book is clearly one of the most beautiful books I've laid my eyes on recently.
The information, resources and photos will help an early gardener produce beautiful gardens.

American Roots is a beautiful book, full of visual inspiration. I found it difficult to wade into the text, consumed as I was by the stunning images. The photographs alone provide a wealth of inspiration. The text likely does, too, though I can't say! What I was able to read did seem geared more to designers, landscape architects, and professionals than to average home gardeners. I was delighted that the book featured Black gardeners. Beautiful, inspiring book!

This is a beautiful book with inspiring pictures and stories of how various gardeners/garden designers created lovely large gardens in various parts of the US. The photos and tips spark ideas, and favorite plants from each garden are identified. Beginning and small-area gardeners could gain a few tips, but details are lacking and the photos can be overwhelming and imply plenty of time and money--although there are money-saving tips based on the contents of most of the gardens. I'll buy a few copies if I get a request for the book or have more budget money to spend as it's inspiring and has several good tips if not detailed instructions.

Beautiful book! It's the kind of book that you can get lost in, dreaming of improving your own garden to match the ones here. It's worth the price just for the photographs. The text is good too. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

"American Roots: Lessons and Inspiration from the Designers Reimagining Our Home Gardens" (how's that for a title?) is a showcase of 20 gardens across the United States. The gardens featured are the creations of people who work in the horticultural industry in some way - most are landscape designers but there are also event planners, flower arrangers, photographers, etc.

The book is visually appealing and there is an abundance of creativity and ideas to ponder. The authors wanted to show that American gardens are diverse and they have succeeded. You will find a range of gardening styles on display - cottage, eclectic, native and many that take advantage of their natural surroundings. And it was refreshing to see so many gardens that utilize a wide range of plants and hardscape materials instead of focusing on the individual element styles that seem to be in vogue these days

This was a beautiful book that would have worked better in hardcover, as a coffee table book, than as an ebook, although I definitely enjoyed reading it and seeing all the gorgeous pictures. The co-authors (3 of them) are Nick and Allison McCullough, a couple who traveled with their children as they interviewed and photographed for this book and who are designers, gardeners, and artists in their own right, and Teresa Woodard, a magazine writer, editor, and gardener. I loved that they included gardens all around the US (North, South, East, and West) and that the gardens were both varied in their design as well as in their designers.

Some of the stories really stood out for me, like Jeanette Bell's, a woman from New Orleans, who transformed an abandoned city lot into an amazing flower and vegetable garden and then proceeded to establish other urban gardens around New Orleans to help the residents, especially after Katrina. This is a book meant to inspire as well as to please the eye, and I think it does that. I am curious how the authors ended up choosing these gardens, but I still enjoyed the stories of each one. I am not a gardener, but my younger sister and mom both have green thumbs and a passion for growing things and I thought this was a book they would really enjoy. If you have a passion for gardening, you should definitely check this book out--perhaps it might inspire you to do something else with your garden.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

It turns out that I enjoy looking a people's gardens almost as much as I like seeing all the stuff that's in their homes.

Here the authors have traveled the U.S. touring some pretty spectacular gardens dreamed up, not by professionals, but by ordinary homeowners like you and me. The photography is gorgeous, and the gardens are AMAZING! From more formal landscapes to the wild and wooly cottage style, you should find something here that suits your fancy.

This would be a wonderful reference book whether you are looking for inspiration for your own gardening projects, or simply enjoy admiring the creativity of others. It's also the perfect book for perusing on a dreary winter's day when a warm breeze, and green growing vegetation seems a lifetime away.