A green and silent world lies concealed behind the stately Amsterdam canal façades. When the central canal belt was planned in the seventeenth century, there were strict regulations that prohibited people from building on and dividing the gardens. Following a period of negligence, there has been a considerable revival of interest in the canal house gardens over the past couple of years. This book is the initiative of the Amsterdam Canal House Gardens Foundation. Photographer Harold Strak has captured the canal house throughout an entire year, in all seasons.