Our climate is in a state of flux. Weather patterns are changing and therefore the way we manage our gardens are changing too. This offers a new and exciting challenge for all gardeners. This new book looks at the garden styles of nine regions which have always dealt superbly with heat, drought and water shortage - the Italianate Garden, the Islamic Garden, the Patio Garden, the Mediterranean Garden, the Gravel Garden, the Desert Garden, the Bush Garden, Cape Colour and the Jungle Garden. Each chapter explains the style and includes a practical tutorial, typical plant forms, a planting plan and a project. The final chapter is a useful plant directory introducing the key plants along with cultivation advice for growing them yourself. This is a critical read for gardeners, a practical and inspirational insight into the classic gardens defined by sunshine, humidity and lack of water that will continue to inform the gardens of tomorrow.

Ambra Edwards worked as campaigns editor for Gardening Which? magazine from 1998-2003. She has written widely on topical and social horticulture and now works as a freelancer, contributing articles to leading publications including The Guardian and The Observer as well as a year-long series for Gardens Illustrated in 2005 and regular columns in Gardenlife and Hortus. She was recently engaged by the Department for Education and Skills to prepare literature on outdoor learning, school gardens and healthy eating in schools. Ambra won the Garden Writers Guild Journalist of the Year, 2006.