[.ca] The Garden Lover's Guide to France (ISBN 1568981287)

From Amazon.com:
Packed with information on over 100 public and private gardens, the slim Garden Lover's Guide to France offers the perfect tour for anyone who's passionate about plants and wants to explore the tailored greenery of France. Author Patrick Taylor is an experienced garden historian who includes a balanced mixture of information, photographs, and diagrams to describe what he calls the two distinctive types of cultivated areas in France: the 17th-century Baroque gardens and public gardens. Covering mostly grand and formal gardens, the book is divided into five major regions and includes helpful tour maps and directions. In each garden's profile, readers will find detailed descriptions of the garden, its history, color photographs, plant species and varieties, special landscape or architectural features, facilities information, and nearby sites of interest. Some of the larger and more renowned gardens such as Versailles and Chateau de Courances have three-dimensional garden plans, which are helpful when exploring the grounds. From the Jardin des Plantes in Paris to Monet's garden at Giverny to the desert specimens of Jardin Exotique in Monaco, visitors are sure to find la plus belle of this picturesque country. --Karen Karleski

useful information, especially about the North of France:
I have been looking at a number of books about gardens in France, and this is the only one that I could use to plan a trip. The coverage is very good, though the vast majority are in the Paris region (Ile de France). Unlike, say, "the Secret Gardens of France", the gardens listed here are open to the public. The notes on each garden are concise. You will need another book if you want to learn about the history of landscape architecture. But the author does provide an assessment of the gardens described: state of repair, relation to original design, beauty, etc. The photo illustrations are very good. My only criticism is that I wish the book was twice as big.