August 4, 2026
A Garden, A Book & A Chair with John Danzer
We asked Munder Skiles founder John Danzer to share the garden he’d most like to revisit, the book on his bedside table and the chair he’d choose to enjoy them both. Along the way, he reflects on the people, places and ideas that have shaped his lifelong appreciation of gardens.
Who first taught you to really look at gardens?
My childhood neighbour, Mrs. Baker, in Baltimore. I mowed her lawn when I had my lawn service company, Adam + Eve, as a teenager. She had a beautifully kept formal garden with boxwoods.
Which garden would you most like to return to?
John Danzer:
Innisfree Garden. It is one of America’s great modernist gardens, where the landscape feels carefully composed yet completely natural. It is a walking garden, so visitors become part of the landscape rather than simply looking at it.
What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
John Danzer:
The Dry Gardening Handbook: Plants and Practices for a Changing Climate by Olivier Filippi.
Which chair would you choose to enjoy them both?
John Danzer:
The Argyle Chair. I love the way the rope of this 1950s bronze-framed chair is strung. It is cushionless, cool and comfortable.
Has your idea of a beautiful garden changed over time?
John Danzer:
Absolutely. Working alongside designers such as Piet Oudolf has had a profound influence.
Piet’s first commission in the UnitedStates was Richard Driehaus’s garden in Chicago, where I was commissioned to create the outdoor furniture. The planting was loose yet carefully controlled, with broad swathes of perennials that could be appreciated in every season.
What’s the one thing every great garden needs?
John Danzer:
A bench, or benches, to domesticate the space and direct the eye towards particular views.
Which gardener or designer has had the greatest influence on you?
John Danzer:
John Saladino. He was one of my earliest clients, as well as a mentor and a friend.
What’s the best gardening advice you’ve received?
John Danzer:
Use changes in elevation to create transitions between different parts of the garden. Steps up and steps down help define spaces and make moving through the landscape a richer experience.
