One of my absolute favorite books was The Wirtz Gardens, chronicling the designs of Jacques Wirtz, a Belgian landscape architect and horticulturist. The book has been out of print for years and last Christmas, when my folks asked for gift ideas, I hopefully nominated this item. I was delighted to unwrap it on Christmas Day.
If you're unfamiliar with Wirtz's work, he is most known for his luscious cloud hedges, typically made of Boxwood.
These images are taken from his own garden, in an area that was for some time his laboratory. Over the years, this boxwood allee almost took shape independently. You can read more about the garden here.
If you want to read more about cloud hedges, check out fellow Arlingtonian Thomas Rainer's blog entry here.
...As designers, I don't think we're ever 100% satisfied with a 'finished' product -- there's always something we wish we could add, subtract or alter. Similarly, our libraries are never finished -- there's always a new book we are lusting after! This week - and perhaps through next week - I will be highlighting a few of the design books I love. Some of them are in my library, while some are still on the wishlist.
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