Regionalism has become a much-discussed design issue for landscape architects in recent years. Increased mobility, uprootedness, and the pace of change in an increasingly technological society have contributed to interest in this concept, which places value on cultural continuity in local areas. This approach to garden design attempts to capture the spirit of the place, the plant material, and symbolic qualities that define a region’s natural and cultural character. These essays lay the foundation for examining regionalism in American garden design. The organization of the papers is by geographical area, covering the West Coast, the Midwest, the South, and New England. This volume also includes Wilhelm Miller’s seminal essay of 1915, “The Prairie Spirit in Landscape Gardening,” reprinted as an appendix. This essay, which is frequently cited but rarely seen, is often regarded as the regionalist manifesto.

This collection of essays provides a geographically and historically selective look at regional American gardens. The essays examine in detail the interaction between locality and a commonly held sense of good order to create specificity of place and time in garden design. Wisely avoiding discussion of regionalism or its merits, the authoritative essays collectively reveal the locally variable definition of regional design.
-- Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians