Jens Jensen: Maker of Natural Parks and Gardens (Creating the North American Landscape) - Softcover

"Why, then, has Jensen continued to attract considerable attention? Robert Grese's book addresses this and other questions with clarity and intensity. Long in the making, this book was well worth the wait. It is a labor of love, and a product of profound intellect and insight... This volume reflects not only Grese's authoritative knowledge of Jensen's life and work but also stresses the many and valuable lessons that Jensen's legacy holds for us now and into the future."

"While Grese clearly sees Jensen's work as an 'inspiration for a whole new generation of designers,' he also recognizes the potential for carrying Jensen's vision much further today... Grese's book is a superb study, thoroughly researched and well written. It is attractively designed and durably bound, with quality reproduction of photographs and plans... This is clearly an essential addition to our landscape literature and a book that belongs in the library of every serious landscape architect and conservationist."

"Robert Grese has written a most sympathetic appraisal of Jensen's life and work. It provides an indispensable guide to the projects he carried out, compiled from plans, photographs and other documents in various archives."

"A meticulous piece of research, thoroughly documented with an extensive bibliography, a complete listing of Jensen's design work, and definitions of names and terms of all the people and ideas relevant to Jensen and his work. The book places Jensen in the context in which he worked and ties landscape architecture to the reform movements of society to which he was so committed. It is an excellent book for readers interested in the Midwest landscape and the people who shaped cities and parks in the twentieth century."

Jens Jensen was one of America's greatest landscape designers and conservationists. Using native plants and "fitting" designs, he advocated that our gardens, parks, roads, playgrounds, and cities should be harmonious with nature and its ecological processes―a belief that was to become a major theme of modern American landscape design. In Jens Jensen: Maker of Natural Parks and Gardens, Robert E. Grese draws on Jensen's writings and plans, interviews with people who knew him, and analyses of his projects to present a clear picture of Jensen's efforts to enhance and preserve "native" landscapes.