America's Romance with the English Garden
“With colorful reproductions of original catalog artwork, this engaging book conveys a wonderful insight into how … nursery companies had a profound and lasting influence on American garden design. There may be other books explaining America’s enchantment with the English garden style, but none, I’m sure, match the scope or contents of this one.”— Betty Earl. author ofFairy GardensandIn Search of Great Plants“I loved this meticulously researched guide through the history of American gardening. It’s fascinating to discover how much has changed in our gardens over the last 200 years, and how much has not.”— Susan Harris. author of the award-winning blogGarden Rant“Thomas Mickey is both a historian of public relations and a passionate Master Gardener, and his engaging book is full of colorful personalities—both plants and humans.”Ariel Swartley — Master Gardener, photographer, and author ofIn Xanadu: A Little Book of Poppies“A penetrating look at the standardized English garden’s grip on the American imagination.”—Ted Steinberg, author ofAmerican Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn“Mickey has thoughtfully woven together an American landscape design  history with a critical examination of how commercial interests and mass  media shape our preferences, even in our humble backyards.”—Publishers Weekly“Mickey convincingly demonstrates how catalog companies used advances in  color printing, rural postal service, and railroad networks to reach a  mass audience, uniformly promote the English ideal, and create demand  for their own products. Thoroughly researched and footnoted, the book  includes examples from powerful and enduring catalogs such as Burpee's  but also from lesser-known and regional seed companies, including some  from the burgeoning West.”—Library Journal