Private Gardens of Philadelphia

The first-ever coffee table book on Philadelphia's private gardens! Inspiring photos and expert writing spotlight select private gardens, where horticultural pride is part of the region's land history.

The Philadelphia region is home to an almost mystifying number of excellent gardens, both public and private. With a history of ornamental gardening going back more than 300 years, Philadelphians take pride in the tradition of horticulture readily visible today in the sizable number of public gardens, esteemed horticulture schools, and the largest flower show in the country.

In Philadelphia and its surrounding counties, the reader will visit 21 private gardens behind tall hedges, down quiet lanes, or tucked into bustling neighborhoods. Here, gardening knowledge and plants themselves have been passed down through generations, culminating in a wonderful depth of expression from the artists, designers, writers, conservators, and other experts whose gardens are included. This book will inspire anyone who loves beauty to create more of it in their lives.

These gorgeous private gardens are products of years of hard physical labor; financial tradeoffs; responding to constant threats of damage by tornados, floods, deer, unwanted development; and random acts of God. Each garden, including the grandest, operates within some combination of challenging constraints. But as all gardeners know, constraints are necessary to push the limits of resourcefulness and creativity.

Nicole Juday's career has encompassed many areas of horticulture, including her own garden design business, working as Landscape Curator at Wyck Historic Garden, and running the renowned Arboretum School at the Barnes Foundation. She then served as Director of Audience Engagement at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, where she created content and programming to inspire gardeners everywhere. A Chanticleer Scholarship allowed Nicole to pursue an interest in garden writing, and she has gone on to publish numerous articles, winning a silver medal for her writing by the Garden Writers Association. She speaks frequently on various gardening topics. When not spending time in her own garden with friends and family, she enjoys volunteering on local beautification efforts. She serves as board chair for the IDEAL Industries Foundation. Nicole lives in Philadelphia.

Rob Cardillo has been photographing gardens, plants, and the people who love them for thirty years. He has been credited as the primary photographer for over twenty-five books, including Private Edens and Private Gardens of South Florida (Gibbs Smith) and The Art of Gardening at Chanticleer, The Layered Garden, and Chasing Eden (Timber Press). Rob's work is also seen in publications such as Gardens Illustrated, Garden Gate, Flower, and The New York Times. Along with his Blue Root Media partners, Rob provides editorial content for an award-winning regional gardening magazine, GROW, published quarterly by the venerable Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Winner of numerous photography awards, Rob was inducted into the Garden Writer's Association Hall of Fame in 2015. Rob lives in Amber, Pennsylvania. You can see more of his photography at www.robcardillo.com.