Lonely Planet: The Joy of Exploring Gardens

by Lonely Planet

Discover 60 of the world's most spectacular gardens plus 120 travel ideas to ignite a love of outdoor spaces. Featuring the history of every botanical gem, beautiful photography and trip planning tips, this uplifting book explores the restorative effects of flora and fauna, and the joy to be experienced from each of the inspiring gardens inside it. Walk spellbinding nature trails at the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona, US; wander the stone paths of Japan's infamous Kenroku-en Garden; or steal away to a subtropical retreat just off the coast from Glengarriff, Ireland. In-depth garden profiles, Q&As with experts, and personal accounts from writers who have experienced the magic of each destination accompany the mesmerising gardens inside this book, so that you can learn just why each idyllic sanctuary is so joyful. Inside The Joy of Exploring Gardens : - 60 in-depth profiles of gardens illustrated with beautiful photography; a Q&A section where you can read the insights and thoughts from an expert closely linked to the garden; and first-hand accounts from writers who have visited each outdoor space - 120 extra must-visit garden destinations from all over the world - At-a-glance reasons to go that offer a glimpse into what you can expect to find in each garden from water features to rainforest walks; city views to upcycled sculptures - Accessibility awareness including an overview of the path and ground conditions and the availability of accessible toilets and other amenities for visitors with disabilities and mobility issues - In the know tips to help you get there including local transport, when to go, what to take with you, must-do activities, and experiences not to be missed - Covers global garden destinations including Africa & the Middle East, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania - Foreword by Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author, naturalist, ecophilosopher, and speaker. Her latest book is Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit. Do more of what you love with our uplifting Joy of series and nurture your biggest passions. The Joy of Exploring Gardens is the ultimate gift book for the horticulturist in your life or a wonderful treat to inspire your next joyful garden adventure to a paradisiacal wonder or secret botanical gem. About Lonely Lonely Planet, a Red Ventures Company, is the world's number one travel guidebook brand. Providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973, Lonely Planet reaches hundreds of millions of travellers each year online and in print and helps them unlock amazing experiences.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Gardening

272 pages, Hardcover

Published October 10, 2023

About the author

OUR STORY
A beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies and Lonely Planet was born. One hundred million guidebooks later, Lonely Planet is the world’s leading travel guide publisher with content to almost every destination on the planet.

Reviews

[MargCal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did Not Finish: The Joy of Exploring gardens: 60 travel experiences to uplift and inspire ..... 04 November 2023
Foreword: Lyanda Lynn Haupt ; Commissioning editor: Dora Whitaker
ISBN: 9781837580590 272 pp. incl. Index

I borrowed this basically to look at pretty pictures in a time of stress. But so much about the book annoyed me that at half way through I couldn't be bothered even turning the pages any more.

The gardens are listed by name in the Contents at the front, divided into five geographical regions. And they're listed by name in the Index at the back, under name, country and other headings such as 'devotional gardens', 'sculpture gardens', etc.

But if you turn the pages sequentially or dip in randomly, you have to search for the garden name in the text because the only headline clue you've got is a country map with a red dot on it. To know where the garden is... Google its name. Because the text will only tell you it's a four hour drive from a nearby airport, take a cab, get the whatever train and walk 15 minutes, and so on. Those might be helpful tips, who knows? But they do not tell you the exact location if you want to plan a visit.

If you like a particular garden in the book, a couple of other gardens that might give similar enjoyment are given in a short paragraph headlined with garden name and country.

Garden descriptions could have come from Google or maybe from Lonely Planet Country or city guides.

And maybe the photos came from other Lonely Planet publications. Or a trawl through well known photo collections and paying to use those.

In other words, this book feels like a cut/copy-and-paste effort to get a garden book onto the market. It lacks the personal warmth of any of the authors having visited and enjoyed the gardens themselves. Even the Q&A section for each garden reads like an email sent to someone connected to the garden, asking them to answer three or four questions in 30 words or less.

Not recommended at all.
You'd be better off googling "garden highlights of town/city/region/country" that you're planning to visit.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for more information. Although it showed each garden on a country map (outline only) in many cases I had to search to find the city. Beautiful photos but not up to the level of detail I’ve come to expect from Lonely Planet. This was my first book of this type from them so maybe it’s supposed to be this way in this series. Beautiful photos.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good tour of the worlds great gardens but bit cumbersome to read ! Bit brief on each