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T he heartfelt new book, Bunny Williams: Life in the Garden (Rizzoli, $60) has been 40 years in the making. That's how long the renowned interior designer has spent cultivating her gardens at the 19th- century house in the Connecticut Berkshires she shares with her husband, antiques dealer John Rosselli. The 12-acre estate features sunken, parterre, woodland, and vegetable Blooming By Rebecca Sherman. Principal photography Annie Schlechter. The Bunny Williams gardens, along with a mature apple orchard. There are also a working greenhouse and aviary, along with a year-round conservatory filled with plants. Williams designed these remarkable gardens, doing much of the digging and planting herself. Five years ago, she enlisted expert help from head gardener Robert Reimer and his wife, Tricia Van Oers, who nurtures the vegetable and cutting gardens. It wasn't until photographer Annie Schlechter photographed the grounds for Veranda magazine that Williams decided to do a book about the gardens. "When I saw all her beautiful images, I realized how the property had matured after years of planning and hard work," she says. "Annie's eye brought the gardens to life for me." Williams' self- penned stories open each chapter, and she also gives advice on planting, flower arranging, decorating, and entertaining. Bunny Williams riffs on pruning tools, gardening books, bugs, and how to start your own garden. Pictures worth 1,000 words. This was quite an emotional book for me, because I bought this house 40 years ago World of Beautiful, The parterre was inspired by a design by English gardener Rosemary Verey. The conservatory, at right. Left: View from the sunken garden into the birdhouse village. 66