Southampton - "Rooftop Gardens: The Terraces, Conservatories, And Balconies of New York" offers views and insights into the design of private rooftop gardens that sit "above it all" at some of the most prestigious addresses in New York City. From Park Avenue, to Fifth Avenue, Central Park West, Mercer Street, and other well known Manhattan streets, 'Rooftop Gardens' invites readers to peek inside the outside spaces of many of Manhattan's well known residents.

"Rooftop Gardens: The Terraces, Conservatories, and Balconies of New York" (Rizzoli, $45) written by Denise LeFrak Calicchio and Roberta Model Amon, with Foreword by Evelyn H. Lauder, and photography by Norman McGrath ensures that the only limitation that may affect these stunning outdoor spaces is what the imagination has simply not thought of yet.

Calicchio of the unequivocally successful Manhattan real estate LeFrak family, and Amon, involved with the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, provide an exclusive vantage on the most stunning private gardens, terraces and balconies in New York City and the lavish lives of those who live in them.

Divided into four categories: Rooftop Garden as Sanctaury, Rooftop Garden as Outdoor Room, Rooftop Garden as Landscape, and Rooftop Garden as Aerie, the book reveals the design and architectural skills, tastes and desires of residents from all over Manhattan. The book is a collaboration of real-estate insight and utmost access, providing an exclusive vantage on the most stunning private gardens, terraces and balconies in New York City and the lavish lives of those who live in them, revealing the works of more than a dozen garden designers.

The diversity of each rooftop and terrace is vast - from English cottage and Provençal themed gardens, to Japanese rock gardens, sky-high gazebos, glass conservatories, risqué outdoor showers, and marquee art and sculpture installations. Each rooftop garden is profiled from a botanist and design perspective, revealing the sought-after landscape architects of this high-rise world, such as Halsted Welles, Gresham Lang and Paula Hayes, and uncovering the rich history and unique inspiration behind each coveted space.

'Rooftop Gardens' offers countless ideas for urbanites around the globe who long for a connection to nature and cherish the serenity of outdoor living, and possess the means to create and sustain these lavish and beautiful outdoor spaces.

Esteemed Park Avenue resident Lauder writes the foreword to the book saying, "The romance of having a city garden is a love affair hard to relinquish. The contrast between the noise of the city streets and the calmness of the sky's proximity, as well as seeing breathtaking views and inhaling fragrant blossoms, keeps the affection alive - a rooftop garden is not like any other garden in the world."

Renowned design expert and former editor-in-chief of House & Garden, Dominique Browning, pens the introduction remarking, "'Rooftop Gardens' offers us a chance to leap tall buildings with the turn of a page. We share with the hawks of Central Park their bird's-eye view of the mysterious celestial treasures being tended high up in the air."

About The Authors And Contributors
Denise LeFrak Calicchio is a member of the prominent LeFrak real estate family and a co-author of "High Rise, Low Down." Roberta Model Amon is active on committees of the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Norman McGrath is an architectural photographer and author, most recently of "Architectural Photography." Evelyn H. Lauder is Senior Corporate Vice President of The Esteé Lauder Companies Inc. She is also Chairman of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), which she founded in 1993. Dominique Browning, who penned the introduction, is the former editor-in- chief of House & Garden and now is a writer, editor, and consultant in the newspaper and magazine fields. Her most recent book is "Slow Love: How I Lost my Job, Put on My Pajamas, and Found Happiness."

The photographs by McGrath (all shot in 2010) are as breathtaking as the heights of some of these magnificent outdoor spaces. If you love gardens, flowers, plants and creativity, 'Rooftop Gardens' will keep you engaged and engrossed for hours.

A beautiful compilation reflecting interesting and informative insight that any gardener, designer, and/or lover of outdoor spaces will appreciate and cherish - not just for those who created it - but for those who desired it as well.

"Rooftop Gardens: The Terraces, Conservatories, And Balconies of New York" (208 pages, 146 color illustrations, $45 U.S.) is due out in May by Rizzoli USA.

For more information go to www.rizzoliusa.com.