In this sourcebook, a leading garden designer shows how formal and romantic elements can be combined to make exciting gardens -both large and small. Arend Jan van der Horst shows how, in fact, we have the freedom to mix and match past and present traditions. Drawing on a varied selection of European and British gardens, he shows that what he calls imaginative symmetry - free planting on a symmetrical framework - can create a garden rich in contrasts; rustic and formal, open and secret, all juxtaposed in a dynamic fashion. With plans and planting schemes from 12 gardens designed by the author and colour photographs throughout, the book breaks down the elements of the formal garden chapter-by-chapter: from hedges to herbaceous borders, from terraces to water features and from kitchen gardens to pergolas.