Reddit reviews Illustrated History of Landscape Design

Great question, and great idea! Off the top of my head:


The Basics

Landscape Architect's Portable Handbook - This one does get a bit technical, but it's a good guide.


Sociology/Psychology

Social Life of Small Urban Spaces - Just a good book about how people experience spaces

Design with People in Mind - An older film, but a classic. Funny and with great observations about how people use spaces and interact with their environment


Design Theory

Architecture: Form, Space and Order - This is a great guidebook for architects and landscape architects alike


History of Landscape Architecture

Illustrated History of Landscape Design - A great intro to the history of landscape architecture.


Urban Planning/Design

Death and Life of Great American Cities - It's a classic and should be a required read for anyone in landscape architecture or architecture


This is the short list - I'll add to it as I think of more!

https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-History-Landscape-Design-Elizabeth/dp/0470289333

This book could be used for citation.

There is a section covering the Medieval period. I don't know what makes a monastic garden different from the kitchen/herb gardens of a castle/estate manor during that time, but they seemed to be mostly walled in and with practical use instead of for aesthetic purposes. This is in contrast to the Enlightenment's monumental palace gardens. And further on, geometry fell out of fashion with the rise of Romantic Naturalism in the 18th century.

I think the herb knot gardens in fashion during the Medieval period informed the Victorian annual bedding practices or even the hedge mazes that emerged. This is just personal speculation, however.

There is a clear connection between the geometric and regular layout of (because of the wall boundaries) of these older gardens and the impressive layouts of the gardens of Notre for Versailles, though. They were artificial on purpose and followed the philosophy of hierarchical order with Man above everything, but under God. Bushes and trees weren't left to themselves if they could be turned into topiaries, pleached, pollarded, etc. They were in regimented rows and expressed wealth from the amount of hired help required to maintain them.