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The Gift Of Books

From tree houses to grand estates, a world of delight is ours to open

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CHARLES JENCKS / COURTESY OF FRANCES LINCOLN The Black Hole Terrace at Charles Jencks' garden in the Borders area of Scotland explores the idea of space being ripped apart, using the metaphor of a whirlpool, where all matter and light are sucked in. DOUGLAS KEISTER / COURTESY OF GIBBS SMITH In New Orleans, this courtyard possesses the refinement of the fine Southern home it adjoins. The home supports window boxes festooned with cascading lantana, and trellises are laden with evergreen wisteria and confederate jasmine. Boxwood topiary spheres punctuate the herringbone-patterned brick paving surrounding the fountain wall at left. AKE E:SON LINDMAN / COURTESY OF FRANCES LINCOLN At Villa Lante in Bagnaia, Italy, visitors can explore a series of fountains, including the Fountain of the Moors in the center of the Lake Garden. The inner four blocks of the terrace are ponds, where stone ferrymen wait in their boats to take passengers across the River Styx. The outer blocks are designed as parterres of box and yew. BILL COMPHER / COURTESY OF FRANCES LINCOLN The Cedar Creek tree house near Ashford, Wa., features two decks, a full kitchen, sleeping space for five and an impressive fixed staircase. It has also been built to make the most of the stunning scenery, which includes views of the Sawtooth Ridge and Mount Rainier.

WE GIVE GIFTS to delight and satisfy, or in the case of "The Garden of Cosmic Speculation" (by Charles Jencks, Frances Lincoln, $45), to intrigue. What other gift besides a book can touch the receiver on so many levels — and be so easy to wrap?

If a book is beautifully designed and photographed, it is an art object in and of itself. Just turning the pages is like a private visit to a museum or gallery, only with a book you can visit while sitting at home with a mug of tea. This gratification in turning page after luscious page is why e-books will never replace the real thing. But beyond the exquisite beauty of the physical book lies the content, which has potential to stir both the senses and the intellect, and, in the best books, the imagination.

The new paperback edition of Jencks' book does just that, using his own garden in Scotland to stretch our imagination with some of the most unusual garden photos ever. Actually, it intimidates me so much that I retreat into librarian mode to try to figure out what the book's about, and find that catalogers have assigned it the subject headings of cosmology, nonlinear sciences and chaos theory, as well as landscape art. Does that help?

Jencks, a designer and theorist, and his late wife, landscape architect Maggie Cheswick, in the 1970s began their exploration of nature's patterns and man's manipulations. According to Jencks, the garden is a miniaturization and celebration of the universe, designed to heighten our five senses. I guess it can be enjoyed on that level, without worrying about the representations of DNA, black holes and metamorphosis. But the Fractal Terrace, a pause between nature and culture, disturbs me. As I think the garden is meant to do, and as this book so gorgeously and curiously does.

How about a lovely little book on herbs as an antidote to all that profundity? "Jekka's Complete Herb Book" (by Jekka McVicar, Kyle Cathie Ltd., $19.95) is written by a nursery owner whose innovative herb-garden designs have won gold medals at British flower shows. The long history of herbs and how to grow them — as well as charming photos, tempting recipes and herb-garden design schemes — fill every page. Give the book to a friend this Christmas, and you may well receive a bottle of coriander-seed vinegar or a tin of lemon-balm tea next year.

Think twice about who should get "The Gardens of Italy" (by Ann Laras, Frances Lincoln, $50) because the photos alone could send even a devoted homebody rushing across the ocean to visit the Abbey of La Cervara or the Villa Durazzo. From Tuscan courtyards to the estates of the DeMedici, all these gardens are open to the public. But this is more than a mouth-watering lure of a travel book. It does a fine job illustrating these gardens' timeless design, where plants are secondary to art and architecture, and all is subservient to the immense beauty of the Italian countryside.

"Courtyards: Intimate Outdoor Spaces" (by Douglas Keister, Gibbs Smith, $39.95) looks at garden courtyards from Seattle to Munich. The variety of styles and designs is impressive, but practical application gets lost in the welter of ideas and aesthetics. It's a mind-broadening experience to consider the array of possibilities for fountains, night lighting, arbors, plantings, entrances and most of all how the relationship between house and garden is furthered by a well-planned and furnished courtyard.

This last title is sure to appeal to just about any creative person on your list. "Treehouses" (by Paula Henderson and Adam Mornement, Frances Lincoln, $45) is an international exploration of the eccentricity and ingenuity of those who choose to live at least part of their lives high among the branches. These are dreamy structures, ranging from a "Star Wars" fantasy of a sky-high village in Oxfordshire to a tree-house hotel in Costa Rica. Anyone would long to sleep a night in one of them. While urging respect for an individual tree's shape and identity, the authors include general design principles and construction guidance.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle freelance writer and contributing editor for Horticulture magazine. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.