From humble cottages to sprawling estates, all residences benefit from lush, well-tended gardens that provide solace to the owners and truly turn a house into a home. This survey volume by prolific garden author and editor Elvin McDonald takes the reader on a tour of the most carefully planned, tended, and executed gems of residential gardens across the United States.

Gardens from simple to grand are selected for the way the unique hand of the owner that tends and cares for them is revealed–whether they blend the classical influence of Italy with the plant life of Texas, adeptly convert tight suburban lots into an enfilade of floral rooms, add tranquil planes of water-loving plants to an otherwise parched landscape, or reinterpret the lessons of Versailles for a Connecticut home. Here, uniquely selected color palettes unify otherwise unruly vegetable gardens, a small lot offers something new for the senses at every step, edible landscapes crop up in unexpectedly harsh landscapes, and roof gardens recall the sod homes of the Midwest’s past.

Scales and climates vary to inspire readers from every corner of the country. Featured gardens are located in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Francisco, and Ojai, California; Tucson, Arizona; Dallas, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Knoxville, Tennessee; Des Moines and Macksburg, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; Chicago and Wilmette, Illinois; New Hampshire; Greenwich, Connecticut; Rhode Island; East Hampton and Oyster Bay, New York; New Jersey; and Florida.