It’s a complete miss and it’s sad. Anyone who opens American Gardens—the book that accompanies Monty Don’s BBC TV series by the same name—expecting to be wowed by spectacular photography and glowing prose about Yankee gardening prowess needs to lower his or her expectations. Hard.
Keep in mind that Don is a beloved garden presenter whose Gardener’s World is wonderfully personal and specific and that his other books are, rightly, very highly regarded.
Unfortunately, this book suffers from the same issues that were problems for the series; I outlined some of them here. In brief, the series’ focus on big public beauty spots reveals little to nothing about how Americans really garden. Tangents into desert and meadow habitats educate about landscape and environment, but also miss the boat. What we have here are two entities called American Gardens that don’t and can’t illuminate actual American gardening practice. You have showplaces maintained by casts of hundreds, exquisitely designed Southwest estates, a smattering of community spaces, a couple preserves, and a very few private gardens that are created and maintained by their owners—including our own Dan Hinkley’s Windcliff. (Imagine if there had been ten more such properties.)

From the Lurie spread (It is just as blurry as it looks here)
But what if we say that’s just fine? Why not celebrate the showplaces? Don’t they deserve it? They absolutely do. And that’s why I was so shocked when I opened the book—writer Monty Don and photographer Derry Moore are given equal billing, by the way—to the pages on Chicago’s Lurie Gardens and was met by a full-page photograph of out-of-focus echinacea. Upon turning the page, there are much better views of Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate (the bean) and Frank Gehry’s open air concert hall. Turn the page again: a double-truck spread of more blurry plants backed by a skyline that wouldn’t have been my choice. There is no photograph of Lurie here that even starts to express what Don correctly refers to as “a masterpiece.”
I would say the same about Chanticleer—which just looks dreary—and Longwood, which suffers from soft focus shots and too much emphasis on its fountains. Central Park comes off fairly well, but the plantings at Monticello look pathetic and the pages on the southwestern estates would make you wonder, if you had not seen the series, why they’d been included. It’s important to note that the dull flatness of the book’s imagery is not reflected in the series; I was fascinated when I watched the segments on the western gardens, regardless of their relevance.
If it seems I have overemphasized photography, keep in mind that this is a coffee table book that’s absolutely dependent on photography. Don’s writing is true to the bemused narrative of the series and I could chuckle along with his pokes about mindfulness sessions and golf culture. I could respond to comments like “I know that sense of unity and identity when the place where garden ends and gardener begins becomes blurred.”
The “stranger in a strange land” persona Don maintains in the American series is present throughout the book; if one accepts the concept of the series, this is the right tone to take. That sense of stunning exoticism and spectacle needed to be visually present in the book as well, and it’s not. Colors are muted, plants are (often) barely recognizable, and manmade structures seem to fare much better photographically than the living gardens. That doesn’t work in a garden book.
For those looking for books on American gardens that look as beautiful as the gardens they describe, I have a few recommendations. Dan Hinkley’s Windcliff (photos by Claire Takacs) is an obvious choice. I have also enjoyed The Layered Garden, by David Culp, with photos by Rob Cardillo; Chasing Eden, by Jack Staub and Renny Raynolds (photos by Cardillo); Page Dickey’s Uprooted (less of a picture book); and Spirit of Place, by Bill Noble. If you really want to read about—and look at—American gardens, these—and many other books—will do the job. Beautifully.
I agree disappointing
Absolutely love Monty Don, but this book was a complete miss. I saw this whole series as an income stream rather than a true labor of love – which is how I’ve usually found his books.
I enjoy Monty Don’s poetic sensibility and I like his dogs, too. I have two of his books and I’m glad he makes money writing them. However, I agree that the American series was a miss. In defense of Monty, I don’t know if it is possible to develop a cohesive narrative that can wrap American horticulture up in a red white & blue bow. We can’t even do that ourselves. I second the kudos for Claire Takacs.
Take two chapters of Christopher Lloyd’s book, ‘Other People’s Gardens’ and you’ll feel better. Only 3 American gardens, and ancient photography, but he paints glorious pictures with words. Coming soon, Jennifer Jewell has a book that seems to do justice to Western US gardens. Looking forward to it.
I wholeheartedly agree. I preordered this book on my previous enjoyment of Monty Don’s publications, and sorely regret it. This book is not for gardeners!
Sadly,Monty has become a brand. As a UK gardener,I watch Gardeners World and read Monty ‘s columns in GW magazine,but increasingly find his words patronising and out of step with reality. If it’s any comfort,he presents British gardens in the same way as American…we’re not all Sissinghurst! Time for a fresh commentator,I think.
Where are folks in the US seeing it? We get GW through an add-on channel on Amazon, but I’ve not yet been able to find American Gardens for streaming. Thanks!
Hi Tawnie, I apologize for the delay i answering this. I saw American Gardens via YouTube.
After seeing the American Gardens videos I wasn’t interested in the book. I thought Monty sounded tired and bored on most of his American Gardens tour. Looks like the book is just as bad, or worse.
Sadly, I think you’re completely right Elizabeth – and I so wanted to disagree! I went in with an extremely open mind, and a love of his written work, and found myself deeply disappointed. Don admits that he only has a passing familiarity with American gardens and American climates, and yet that doesn’t stop him making sweeping generalizations based on single moments in time. I mentioned it in the Facebook comments, but someone who says “Florida has almost endless sun without ever being too hot or too humid” has not visited Florida beyond the short months of winter. The photos were poor, and I do not say that lightly, as I am aware of Derry Moore’s excellent reputation for architectural photography in the UK. Apart from the occasional shot, they do not capture the essence of these gardens at ALL.
And then there are the many moments that set the teeth firmly on edge, such as when he commiserates with James Golden of Federal Twist (NJ) who Don considers a million miles above the average American gardener. When Golden says “The garden is good for me psychologically and spiritually, and good for the earth,” Don remarks “”…these different aspects and gifts of gardens were obvious to me and to many British gardeners but seem to be shared by few Americans.” I simply don’t have the words to adequately express my disgust at such an extraordinarily pompous statement, so I’ll use an acronym: WTF?!?
In the very next paragraph “the wisest and most gifted gardener” in America (apparently) is then quoted as saying “I hate gardening…I hate getting my hands dirty, I hate struggling to separate roots and then digging a hole. I have someone to do that for me…I don’t feel it necessary to dig or plant to be fully engaged with the garden.” One wonders how Don, longtime Observer correspondent before his Gardeners World TV-swoon days (back when he wrote that GW was “nice, but naff”), and a once man of the people, could be enchanted enough to highlight out-of-touch sentiments best kept to oneself.
Here’s what’s actually shared by few American gardeners, Monty: The ability to pay someone else to do one’s dirty work, no matter how much you might like sit in a chair and orchestrate it. Yes. The book was a lost opportunity. – MW
I do identify with James Golden. It gets muddled, being supposedly about defining American gardens, but I think that gardenING gets confused with garden making, which is much more complex and may or may not involve gardenING. I like all the help I can get. Maybe we should have an online discussion, Marianne, as this is a very condensed version of my thoughts, – and yours maybe?
Yes Anne. Very condensed (for being such a long comment!) – and I understand your issues with the terms. Mine are with Don shabbily chastising the majority of American gardeners for not having a spiritual, psychological and ecological connection with their gardens (flatly untrue) and then lifting up Golden as the epitome of that connection. My review of Adventures in Eden goes into this conversation of garden making/gardenING a bit further – that will post in the next couple weeks. -MW
Fair enough – look forward to the review. Xx
Sorry, but I just wanted to say that, in the UK, Monty Don is not highly regarded or considered to be a national treasure by all of us over here.
There is no doubt that he is a ‘natural’ in front of the camera but for many, he lacks knowledge, is advised by, and reliant upon, inexperienced researchers and his Gardener’s World programme puts many people off gardening rather than on to it.
I’ve reviewed the book for the March issue of The Garden, the Royal Horticultural Society’s membership magazine. The fact that he says that the climate in Florida is sunny “without ever being too hot or too humid” is all you need to know about this book. I read this out to a friend in Florida – and she laughed so much that she nearly choked…
Graham – yes that stuck out like a sore thumb to me as well (see comment above). I texted a quick shot to a Miami friend who was having a bad week and needed a decent laugh. It is perhaps a book that you should have written with your broad experience in both countries. – MW