Paradise Gardens

Gardens of Eden, oases of paradise, heavens on earth created by man. The new school of gardening takes its inspiration from the sunny Mediterranean, from the cultivated spaces made to bloom in the desert, and from the richly ornate Arabic and Andalusian traditions.

Two of the finest exemplars of such design are Éric Ossart and Arnaud Mauriéres, who have developed a contemporary vocabulary for arranging and restoring gardens--including some of the most prestigious in France and throughout the world.

Through large-size captivating photos, sensuous, mood-enhancing poetry, along with advice and layouts, they bid you enter the worlds that so inspired them: spaces in Egypt, Spain, France, Tunisia, and Morocco lush with palms, colored with the reds of peppers and tomatoes, planted with banana, olive, and flowering cherry trees, redolent with the fragrance of oranges, perfumed by roses, and almost always, with water to cool and refresh the senses.

Here, the gardens' grounds are "carpets" composed of many flowers, ochre walls mirror the fertile earth, and the details in each, from fine tiles to unusual containers, will leave you astounded.