Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Lenhardt Library

Current Books & Book Reviews

PHOTO: bookcover

George Hargreaves, Julia Czerniak, Anita Berrizbetia, and Liz Campbell Kelly.
Landscape Alchemy: The Work of Hargreaves Associates.
Point Reyes Station, Calif.: ORO Editions, 2009.
Cloth, 293 pp., ISBN 978–0–979–53959–6, $65.00.

The prominent landscape architecture firm, Hargreaves Associates, showcases twenty-five years of work in this monograph, including both proposed and completed projects. Organized according to six themes — early years, cultural and water sites, uncommon places, smaller sites, urban parks, and competitions — the text is lavishly enhanced with ground, aerial, and digitally produced photographs. Thanks to the delightful combination of text and graphics, readers can quickly understand the extent and significant elements of any specific endeavor. In addition to commentary on various projects, there are three essays by firm members discussing the firm’s design philosophy and its application in various efforts.

— Marilyn K. Alaimo, garden writer and volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.