author
W. C. (William Constantine) Egan
1841–1930
A practical early-20th-century gardening writer, he is best remembered for sharing clear, encouraging advice on planning and planting perennial gardens. His work speaks to home gardeners who wanted beauty, order, and flowers that returned year after year.
1 Audiobook
Making a garden of perennials
by W. C. (William Constantine) Egan
About the author
Born in New York City in 1841 and raised in Chicago, William Constantine Egan became known as a horticultural writer and landscape figure with a strong interest in ornamental planting. The Cultural Landscape Foundation lists him among its pioneers of landscape design, and surviving records connect him closely with gardening and the development of planted spaces.
He is most closely associated with Making a Garden of Perennials, first published in the 1910s, a compact guide aimed at home gardeners. The book reflects a practical, accessible style: instead of grand theory, it focuses on how ordinary readers could build lasting flower gardens with perennial plants.
Egan died in 1930. Although he is not as widely remembered today as some major garden writers of his era, his work still offers a snapshot of early American enthusiasm for planned, livable, flower-filled home gardens.