Garden Eden: Masterpieces of Botanical Illustration
is a picture book of 500 renderings of the most exotic flora on this planet. The style of illustration varies from severe 18th-century plates of cacti and extraordinary 6th-century drawings of medicinal herbs from Byzantium, with notations in Arabic and in Persian, to romantic bouquets from the Jardin du Roi in Paris, below right, and lovely English conifers from the very early 19th century. A book such as this wouldn't be complete without Pierre-Joseph Redouté's illustrations, especially his exceptional watercolors of roses (below left). Author H. Walter Lack, a botanist and zoologist, suggests that the art lover and the avid horticulturist will enjoy "wandering" through the 578-page book. We suggest that that sort of wandering be done from the comfort of the Martimo teak outdoor chaise (above), an adjustable and roomy wood recliner designed by Giati expressly for that purpose.
July 2001
