Creating a Garden Retreat

A garden is more than the sum of its parts – what’s important is that it have a heart.

Through ethereal illustrations, textile designer and artist Virginia Johnson takes the reader on her own garden journey, from blank slate to dreamscape. Over the years, she has transformed a small, narrow city lot into a garden that is personal, carefree, wild and welcoming.

It all began with a fence to allow her children to play freely but safely. Eventually, it turned into a city-dweller’s secret garden. Hornbeams, with their elegant shape, are the heroes of her garden, and the overall palette reflects an artist’s lens – peonies, hollyhocks, roses and hydrangeas abound.

Johnson explains her process with ease and clarity, bringing her ideas to life with simple descriptions and beautiful watercolors so readers start down the path toward their own garden retreat.

Hardcover, 192 pages, 2022.