Garden to the Max - by Teresa Woodard (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Having a maximalist garden is a bold aesthetic choice--yet it also brings vitality back to the earth, in an abundant expression of more. Garden to the Max celebrates gardens across the US that embrace maximalism through joy and wonder, nonstop blooms, and abundant layers...Featured gardeners include an amateur ornithologist seeking to attract more birds, an event planner's tropical paradise, a pair of city dwellers reducing their carbon footprint, an urban garden pioneer promoting pollinator gardens, and a life-long biophilic propagating endangered plants to nurture insects." --

Book Synopsis

Explore a maximalist approach to gardening with this vibrant photography book that features 20 aspirational gardens that prove "more" is better.

Having a maximalist garden is a bold aesthetic choice--yet it also brings vitality back to the earth, in an abundant expression of more. Garden to the Max celebrates gardens across the US that embrace maximalism through joy and wonder, nonstop blooms, and abundant layers. The book is a feast of gorgeous photography by Bob Stefko, showcasing individual quirkiness, wild collections, and bold, personality-packed plant combinations that amplify the grandeur of each garden's unique vision, packing in plants for their exuberant style and ecological benefits.

Featured gardeners include an amateur ornithologist seeking to attract more birds, an event planner's tropical paradise, a pair of city dwellers reducing their carbon footprint, an urban garden pioneer promoting pollinator gardens, and a life-long biophilic propagating endangered plants to nurture insects. Longtime garden writer Teresa Woodard shares stories of each garden and its fearless designers, the inspirations for their plant collections, and their hopes for our earth's future.

Information-packed sidebars full of standout plants and growing tips will inspire dreamers and gardeners to embrace their own passions. Garden to the Max gives everyone permission to bring the exuberant interior style into the garden and develop a spirited reverence for plants, celebrating joy and personality in the garden--to the max!

Review Quotes

"Over the top, extravagant, lush, and breathtaking . . . In a much-needed counterpoint to stripped-bare minimalist garden design, gardening journalist Woodard and photographer Bob Stefko collaborate in this indulgent, cross-country catalog of... amazing, individually owned garden...This is both a lavish coffee-table tome and an invitation for garden innovation and thoughtful landscaping." --Booklist

"Garden to the Max is an amazing distillation of American horticulture that details the creativity of home gardeners throughout the country. Each garden is designed with a dramatic flair that captures each individual's personal approaches to plant collecting, design, and creating spaces with ecological capacity. This book captures the "best-of-the-best" in American design with the Mountsier-Hardie garden of geometric whimsy; JP Malocsay's pollinator wonderland perched above Pittsburgh; Irvin Ettien's tropical oasis in the heart of Indiana, and the iconic work of Lauren Springer at high elevations in Colorado. This work will inspire every gardener who believes that gardening is a dynamic act of artistic and personal expression."
--Andrew Bunting, VP of horticulture, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, organizer of the Philadelphia Flower Show

"Gardening is rarely a casual occupation. As an art form, creating great gardens throughout history has resulted from of a sort of manic obsession. In Garden to the Max, Teresa Woodard captures the best diverse American examples of this passionate occupation. Gardens, and gardening are ascendant once again, especially in this post-pandemic world, and Woodard realizes importantly that gardens are best understood as self-portraits of their creators."--James Brayton Hall, President and CEO, The Garden Conservancy

"Gardens are as much about the people who create them as the plants that grow in them and the concepts behind them. Teresa Woodard expertly captures all of it in Garden to the Max, a book that celebrates exuberance and no-holds-barred gardening in a way that will inspire even the most timid gardener. And, the stories of 20 creative and joyful gardens and their gardeners are brought to life through Bob Stefko's stunning photography."--Erin Schanen, Creator and Head Plant Lover, The Impatient Gardener

"The vibrant gardens in Garden to the Max, and the stories of the extraordinary gardeners who created them, bring to mind one word -- EXUBERANT! Vastly different in style, each garden embodies their creator's passion for color, creativity, innovative use of space and above all PLANTS!... all with a Maximalist's embrace of abundance. Those that appreciate bold style partnered with good design will enjoy this book as much as I did. The wonderfully worded text describing the gardens and lessons from their creators, together with the spectacular photography, illustrate perfectly that good design comes in all forms and knows no bounds." --Sean Conway, author, garden designer, and producer of the TV series Cultivating Life

"To enter the pages of Garden to the Max is to enter realms of enchantment and personal expression. Enjoy each visit, absorb each space, and relax in the pleasure of each gardener's passionate creation!"
--Hutton Wilkinson, Owner and Creative Director, Tony Duquette Inc, Dawnridge Estate and Gardens

"Teresa Woodard guides the reader on an exquisite road trip across America showcasing how gardening to the max can transform public and private spaces. With incredible storytelling and eyepopping photography, Garden to the Max is a maximalist journey into bold and innovative ways to create beautiful and vibrant places. Prepare to be inspired!"
--Laura Kunkle, Executive Director of America in Bloom

About the Author

An award-winning garden writer, Teresa brings a background in magazine writing and gardening experience. She is author of Garden to the Max: Joyful, Visionary, Maximalist Design (Timber Press 2025) and co-author of American Roots: Lessons and Inspiration from Designers Reimagining Our Home Gardens (Timber Press 2022). During her 16-year writing career, she has written and produced garden content for regional and national publications including Better Homes & Gardens and Country Gardens and currently serves as contributing garden editor at Midwest Living magazine and content creator for digital garden media. She has won Gold and Silver Media Awards from GardenComm. Outside of work, she gardens at her home near Columbus, Ohio, volunteers at an urban garden teaching youth about growing food and advises America in Bloom communities across the country.

The career of Chicago-based photographer Bob Stefko spans almost 25 years in both editorial and commercial work. During that time he has photographed a diverse range of subjects including many of this country's finest gardens, Fortune 500 CEOs, Olympic athletes, and some of the world's most remote landscapes. His work has appeared in hundreds of publications including Better Homes and Gardens, Forbes, Wine Spectator, and Midwest Living magazine, to name a few. When not snapping pictures you can usually find him living his secret life as a general contractor, being an urban gardener, wannabe chef, tinkering in his basement shop, hunting down mid-century modern treasures, or cycling the early mornings away on Lake Michigan. Bob and his wife Shelby live in their personally renovated two-flat building in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago.