Hailed as 'the man who made the modern garden', John Brookes transformed twentieth-century garden design, not only in his native Britain but throughout the world. In his first - groundbreaking - book, Room Outside, in 1969, he wrote 'A garden is essentially a place for use by people . . . not a static picture created by plants . . . plants provide the props, the colour and texture, but the garden is the stage and its design should be determined by the uses it is intended to fulfil.'

For nearly fifty years he has designed gardens, and taught garden design - in the United States, Canada and South America, in Russian and Japan, in Iran and all over Europe - and he continues to emphasize 'the importance of reconciling nature and the character of a landscape with the needs and visions of the people living in it'.

Now, in A Landscape Legacy, John Brookes tells the story of his life and work and reflects on how his thinking about design has developed.

'John Brookes's work has helped gardeners worldwide move beyond the tradition of pure horticulture towards a recognition of space, mass, volume and texture as crucial elements in design; towards functional considerations - how people live in gardens, even small ones created with modest means; and an emphasis on setting and spirit of place, making gardens more than mere fashionable and interchangeable decors. By treating garden design as an art form, yet recognizing its raw materials as living, evolving and infinitely diverse, he bridges the opposition of art and nature, conceptual and environmental design.' - Louisa Jones, garden writer, Provence

"This attractively produced book is essential reading for anyone interested in garden design and history." - Telegraph Gardening Books of the Year

"We are fortunate that he lived to complete this book, for he was an inspired teacher and mentor as well as a designer, and every page, with its plans, elevations and photographs, underscores not only his expertise but his powers in communicating it." - Spectator, The Year's Best Gardening Books

"A delightful and insightful book and as important in the literature of garden design as Brookes' monumental Room Outside." - Irish Garden Plant Society blog

"To read this book is to understand the history and development of contemporary garden design. Brookes' legacy is utterly significant to the creation of the modern garden and this memoir is a book all landscape designers should have on their bookshelves." - The Garden

"This is one book that deserves its place on the bookshelf and I know it will be treasured by many, including myself, for decades to come." - Reckless Gardener

"It is no exaggeration to say that John Brookes transformed 20th-century garden design, not only in his native Britain but throughout the world. Here, he tells his story and reflects on how his thinking about garden design, and design generally, has developed." - Listed Property Owners Club magazine