Historic gardens of Perth: European Settlement to Modernism, edited by John Viska and Lisa Williams is the first publication to deal solely with the history of gardens in Western Australia. The book is the result of research for two exhibitions […]
Book review by Max Bourke AM I seem to be making a habit of this. Last year I got very excited about the wonderful book by Suzanne Simard Finding the Mother Tree and said so in a review for AGHS […]
The Maranoa Botanic Garden is a hidden gem in Balwyn not far from Melbourne’s city centre. Recently it become entitled to use the word ‘botanic’ in its title, in recognition of its importance in conserving plant specimens in a living […]
Garth Falconer, Harry Turbott: New Zealand’s First Landscape Architect, Blue Acres Publishing, 2020, ISBN 9780473 517496, 223 pages This is a ground-breaking book about New Zealand’s first qualified, teaching landscape architect, the first to establish a multiple-person landscape architecture office and […]
Here in Bundanoon, summer has been elusive. The sun has had to compete with mist and rain; the weeds are the happiest plants in the garden. That’s meant a bit more time for reading. Two novels I’ve finished are set […]
Common Ground – Garden Histories of Aoteoroa by Matt Morris, Otago University Press, 2020, 276 pages [Find an interview with the author at https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018774296] I lapped this up: a ‘bottom up’ re-look, re-write of New Zealand garden history that is […]
As a Melbournian, it was a pleasure to review this amazing book, Wonder 175 Years of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria by Sophie Cunningham AM and journalist Peter Wilmoth. Two authors could be problematic; however, Cunningham and Wilmoth write together seamlessly […]
SAFFRON: A Global History by Ramin Ganeshram (Reaktion Books, distributed by NewSouth) was reviewed by Dr Jacqueline Newling, historian and gastronomer in the July issue of Australian Garden History. We didn’t have room there to include a recipe the publishers […]
As editor of both Australian Garden History and the Professional Historians Association’s review page, I receive advice about a lot of books, some of which I think will interest members of both organisations. True to the Land: a history of […]
The Illustrated Plant Glossary (CSIRO Publishing, 2021, $69.99) by Enid Mayfield is a comprehensive glossary of over 4000 terms related to plant sciences, featuring many superb colour illustrations to aid understanding. AGHS Patron and Director, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Tim Entwisle […]
Do you want to know what a florilegium is, or a herbal, and would you like to acquire a piece of an undisputed monument in this genre of books? If so, you could be looking for Johann Wilhelm Weinmann’s Iconography […]
Simard, Suzanne, Finding the Mother Tree – Uncovering the Wisdom and Intelligence of the Forest, 2021, Penguin Random House available in hardback, paperback, audio and Kindle. This book almost makes you want to be locked down! It is a compelling […]
Trisha Dixon has written an extraordinary book straight from her heart. Her beautiful descriptions and potent images – Trisha is a superb photographer − show a very strong connection with landscapes and the feelings they provoke: feelings that are undeniably […]