Product Description

An inspirational and insightful look at contemporary Brazilian garden design and the influence of famed designer Roberto Burle Marx.

Brazilian Roberto Burle Marx was indisputably one of the greatest garden and landscape architects of the twentieth century. His projects, almost all of which were in his native country and highlighted its rich local flora, influenced gardens and landscapes—and other design disciplines—around the world.

Given the richness of Brazil's great tradition of modernism and the lushness of its tropical landscape, it is perhaps only because of its distance that so little is known about contemporary gardening there—until now. Presenting over thirty new gardens and landscapes located across the country, from the coast to the hills, from the cities to the jungle, New Brazilian Gardens offers an exciting overview of current practice by designers who are hardly known outside its borders.

The gardens are grouped into four sections: Water, Planting, Abstraction, and Sculpture. Each project is presented in detail, with descriptions, plans (including plant lists), and photographs. An introduction considers the evolution of the Brazilian garden since the Colonial period and examines Burle Marx's influence in the light of current trends. 267 color illustrations.

Roberto Silva is a Brazilian landscape architect and garden designer living and practicing in London. His writing has appeared in such publications as Gardens Illustrated and The Sunday Times as well as the book The New Decorated Garden.