Landscape designer, Myles Baldwin shows how to create gardens that mesh sympathetically, authentically and workably with period homes. He identifies the defining features of the major design eras ranging from the Renaissance through to Modernism and presents a number of house and garden 'case studies' from Australia, Europe and the UK. There is a practical element, with advice on choosing stylistically appropriate plants, hard landscaping materials and ornamental features.

Baldwin's approach is not so much about creating or restoring 'time capsule' gardens: instead, he focuses on sympathetically and stylishly blending the old with the new, respecting elements from the past while not being afraid to mix and apply them in a contemporary way. This philosophy makes "The New Period Garden" a book with broad general appeal, rather than being a specialist or garden history title.