Private Gardens of Philadelphia

The first-ever coffee table book on Philadelphia’s private gardens! Inspiring photos and expert writing spotlight select private gardens, where horticultural pride is part of the region’s land history.

“Rob Cardillo is a master of light. His eye for the broad sweep, to the humblest detail, captures the very soul of the garden.” —Anne Raver, former garden writer for The New York Times

A GardenComm 2025 Gold Laurel Media Awards Winner, Photography, Book (General Readership)
A GardenComm 2025 Silver Laurel Media Awards Winner, Publishing, Book (General Readership)
A GardenComm 2025 Silver Laurel Media Awards Winner, Writing, Book (General Readership)

The Philadelphia region is home to an almost mystifying number of excellent gardens, both public and private. With a history of ornamental gardening going back more than 300 years, Philadelphians take pride in the tradition of horticulture readily visible today in the sizable number of public gardens, esteemed horticulture schools, and the largest flower show in the country.

In Philadelphia and its surrounding counties, the reader will visit 21 private gardens behind tall hedges, down quiet lanes, or tucked into bustling neighborhoods. Here, gardening knowledge and plants themselves have been passed down through generations, culminating in a wonderful depth of expression from the artists, designers, writers, conservators, and other experts whose gardens are included. This book will inspire anyone who loves beauty to create more of it in their lives.

These gorgeous private gardens are products of years of hard physical labor; financial tradeoffs; responding to constant threats of damage by tornados, floods, deer, unwanted development; and random acts of God. Each garden, including the grandest, operates within some combination of challenging constraints. But as all gardeners know, constraints are necessary to push the limits of resourcefulness and creativity.

More Accolades:

“More than just a compendium of awesome gardens, this book is filled with the seeds for ideas. Harvest from the pages—they will grow on you.” —Tovah Martin, author of The Garden in Every Sense and Season

“Rob Cardillo's images are food for the eye, a pleasing visual experience to see these especially attractive and pleasing gardens filled with lovely plants arranged with thought and grown with care.”—Judy Glattstein, the gardener at BelleWood Gardens