This fall Phaidon is publishing The Gardener’s Garden ($80), a lavish 480-page book spotlighting more than 250 horticultural gems around the world. Among its contributors is Madison Cox, whose clients include the likes of Marella Agnelli, Michael Bloomberg, and Pierre Bergé. AD caught up with the garden designer extraordinaire and spoke with him about the project.

Architectural Digest: What were the selection criteria?

Madison Cox: We started by culling our personal favorites, not just the most important gardens from a historical or design point of view but also the places that really moved us.

AD: In the process did you discover any new gardens or designers?

MC: Yes. For instance, I’d known of the [late Sri Lankan] architect Geoffrey Bawa, who was a brilliant manipulator of exterior space, but it was interesting to see examples of his influence. That’s one goal of the volume: to convey the idea of globality, that it’s not just European and North American traditions.

AD: What can an amateur gardener learn from the book?

MC: There are those who will be inspired by a particular detail or element, but more important, it’s about igniting an interest or a passion. Also, given the remarkable diversity within the book, it shows readers alternatives to their local norm.

AD: What’s your design philosophy?

MC: Each place I’m working on has to have a relationship to its context. And I’m always striving to create harmony and order as well as a sense of retreat, a private world for the person I’m designing for.

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