California public gardens : a visitor's guide / Eric Sigg.

Includes index.

Each word of this book's title describes somthing acout its goals and how it is organized. This is the first book that discusses all major (and many minor) public gardens throughout California. Although they are not necessarily owned by a scheduled basis. The can be found on the estates of philanthropists, in arboretums, in botanical gardens, or in more surprising locations such as a theme park, a college campus, and even a cementery. The author discusses the botany, taxonomy, horticulture, and cultural history of the gardens while commenting on architecture, urban planning, and social purpose. He also connects the gardens to the poeple who made them, to the history and myths of California, and to its landscape. Here the garden is viewed as a fine arts as well as a humane one.