Taking inspiration from art, sculpture, Chicago prairies and folk architecture such as tree houses, Dan Pearson--acclaimed garden designer and "green-fingered guru" at the U.K. newspaper The Observer - lays out his design philosophy and working process, giving readers direct insight into his collaborative approach of working with nature, instead of imposing preconceptions upon it. Journeying from New Zealand to Japan via Thames-side barge gardens, Pearson focuses on the spirit of place as it emerges through geography, history, architecture and native flora, extrapolating this sense of place into a new gardening philosophy. Very far from conventional gardening books, Spirit radically expands the genre, inviting us to understand the act of gardening in the light of contemporary needs and with a keen environmental awareness; Pearson particularly stresses the importance of skills such as being able to "read" a variety of landscapes (both wild and cultivated), and of staying open to what...