This comprehensive text "with reference to both design and execution" covers in fine detail the objectives, rules and implementation of garden design "from a quarter of an acre to one hundred acres in extent."
The book became an important influence on the high-Victorian mixed style.
It set out for the first time a complete guide to laying out a property and integrating the house into the landscape.
Edward Kemp (1817-1891) trained under Joseph Paxton at Chatsworth, later assisted him in the design of Birkenhead Park, and went on to become superintendent of the park.
He was one of the judges in the 1858 New York Central Park Competition, which selected the winning Olmstead and Vaux design.
First published in 1850, and expanded in 1858 into the second edition now reprinted in facsimile.
