Take a tour through Mackinac Island's private and public outdoor spaces for a rare peek at gardens both humble and grand. Each garden has a story, many have secrets, and most have a connection to the past. Come to the gardens and hear the voices of those who love them. With more than 600 color photographs featuring nearly 100 gardens and the Mackinac Island State Park, this book masterfully interweaves narratives, poetry, history and horticulture of this unique island, creating a time capsule of past and present. Mackinac's premier landscape architect Jack Barnwell along with his fellow island landscape designers and local gardeners show how they bring a unique sense of style in the outdoors. From naturalized rock gardens, tranquil ponds, fragrant lilacs and heirloom perennial gardens, to classical statues, elegant fountains, historic pergolas and showy border gardens, The Gardens of Mackinac Island provides a welcome variety of inspiration for creating an inviting, relaxing outdoor space.

Mackinac Island's unique location, quaint horse culture and crop of passionate gardeners has led to the creation of many spectacular gardens. Guided by one of Mackinac's premier landscape designers, explore the island through its most breathtaking garden vistas.

Garden with the confidence of a winner! Proven Winners is America’s #1 plant brand. And now they are sharing their expert plant knowledge and creative design ideas in their first book, The Proven Winners Garden Book. This definitive guide starts with lessons on how to prepare a space, tips on choosing the right design, and a primer on buying the right plants. Twelve garden plans provide simple design ideas that will add curb appeal to your home garden. They include: A welcoming entryway A butterfly and pollinator garden A fragrant flower garden A shady summertime retreat A deer-resistant garden There are an additional twenty-five container recipes that add color and pizzazz to gardens of all sizes—even on balconies and patios. The creative combinations include holiday themes, solutions for shade and other concerns, poolside ideas, and much more.

Horses, history and lilacs are interwoven in Mackinac Island's fabric. The iconic blossoms grow all over the island, from back alleys to the Grand Hotel's hillside to entire hedges at British Landing. The crown jewel is Marquette Park with nearly 115 plants and about 75 varieties. During lilac time in June, a fragrant canopy of color rises as high as 18 feet on the oldest lilacs. Strong winds off the lake have twisted and turned the gnarled branches of these old giants for more than 200 years. Nowhere else on the planet can you find such architecture as this in a lilac. LILACS: A Fortnight of Fragrance on Mackinac Island takes you on a photographic tour of lilacs unfolding in island gardens while sharing insight on when lilacs were first planted here, why they thrive in Mackinac Island's climate, how they inspire artists, and the efforts of Islanders to celebrate and sustain these beautiful plants.

The city of Plaquemine sits along the Mississippi River where it meets with Bayou Plaquemine. Famous French explorer Sieur d'Iberville was brought to the bayou in 1699 by the Bayogoula tribe, who inhabited land a few miles south. While trade boats and ferries began operating on the waterway during the early 1700s, it was not for another 100 years, in 1819, that the first foundations of a town began to appear at the mouth of the bayou. The cattle, sugarcane, and lumber industries brought English, French, Spanish, Italian, Irish, and German settlers and African slaves. After building the Plaquemine Lock in 1909, the city became a commercial hub for trade as it connected New Orleans with the western half of the state.

The nineteenth and twentieth century history of Niles is presented through vintage photographs.

-This book is the perfect visual guide for anyone ready to explore the beauty and history the hotel has to offer, and a takeaway memento for those who've visited this special place Located in the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, Mackinac Island is a magical place, accessible only by ferry, private boat, or small plane. In 1887, Grand Hotel was built on the island to accommodate a new leisure class. Today, horse-drawn carriages (no motorized vehicles are allowed) still bring guests to the 660-foot-long porch to catch the breezes off the Great Lakes. When the Musser family - the owners of the hotel - brought in designer Carleton Varney, a 40-year relationship began, as did an ongoing mission to renovate, update, and create the guest rooms, public spaces, and outer buildings of Grand Hotel. That project continues today. ("The job of decorating is never done," says the designer.) Varney has developed a vision that brings visitors back year after year to their choice of the 397 rooms - no two of which are alike. In Rooms to Remember, Varney - in his usual colorful and anecdote-filled style - walks the reader through over 200 lavish photographs of the 43 Named Rooms and Suites, providing decorating details, history, and insights. This book is the perfect visual guide for anyone ready to explore the beauty and history the hotel has to offer, and a takeaway memento for those who've visited this special place. Come along and join this glorious tour of an iconic American hotel!

Discover Tybee Island's historic hotel that witnessed hurricanes, wars, a riot, murder, Prohibition, and the Great Depression. Tybee Island was a mostly undeveloped tropical island situated 12 miles east of Savannah in the 1880s when businessman Daniel Purse bought most of the island with the intention of transforming it into a seaside resort destination. There were no roads to Tybee at the time. To overcome the obstacle of a two-hour boat ride from Savannah, Purse built a railroad connecting Tybee to Savannah. Thousands of new tourists began flocking to Tybee's beautiful beaches, though most could not stay due to inadequate lodging accommodations. In 1889, Savannah National Bank president and future mayor of Savannah Herman Myers and investors constructed Hotel Tybee, which was one of the finest hotels in the country. For over seven decades, Hotel Tybee hosted vacations, conventions, social events, and gambling. The establishment was ravaged by fire in 1909 but was resurrected more magnificent than before.

Fifteen-year-old Pete Jenkins and his three summer friends visit the nearby Round Island Lighthouse after crossing the turbulent water of Lake Huron in their tiny dingy. After exploring the island they return to find their picnic basket turned upside down and a warning message in their boat. The threat on their lives only heightens their curiosity and leads them on the trail of dangerous thieves. Along the way the four friends discover a side of Mackinac Island that goes beyond fudge and horses---and eventually leads them into life-threatening danger.

Imagine a place of unspoiled beaches, windswept dunes, and dramatic natural beauty. A place free of traffic lights and blaring commercial come-ons. A place whose rich historical heritage is visible everywhere--from the antiques-shop windows filled with handmade baskets and scrimshawed ivories to the spare, shingle-clad houses that coexist harmoniously with the surrounding land- and seascapes. Imagine a place designed, by man and nature, to relax and restore you. Nantucket Island is that place. Thirty miles off Cape Cod, Nantucket is both geographically isolated and--as an internationally regarded vacation resort--culturally sophisticated. Nantucketers are rightly proud of a manner of living that couples the casual comforts of small-town life with an urbane sense of glamour, taste, and style. In this handsomely illustrated book, longtime Nantucket residents Leslie Linsley and Terry Pommett give you an insider's look at the on-island lifestyle: the restored historic homes of Nantucket town and 'Sconset village, the appealingly humble beachfront cottages that dot the island's shoreline, and the beautifully tended gardens--formal and informal--that grace Nantucket's private houses and public buildings. More than 200 color photos document the other attractions--panoramic views, home-grown handicrafts, seasonal celebrations --that make Nantucket such a rewarding place to spend a day, a summer, or a lifetim