About the Book
Table of Contents:
Spring: overview of the season - spring into action, great ideas for small gardens, bring your soil to life too, all creatures great and small, spring fever; annuals, perennials & bulbs - annuals, perennials, bulbs; grasses, ground covers & climbers - grasses, project - potted grass garden, ground covers, climbers; shrubs & trees - shrubs, trees; herbs, fruit & vegetables - herbs, fruit, project - potted strawberries, vegetables. Summer: overview of the season - summer protection, summer watering, water features, free plants, organic gardening, plant problems, we're all going on a summer holiday, gardening in small areas, wish list, white flowers, hanging baskets, project - make a ball basket, a posy from the garden, sensuous summer, singing the blues; annuals, perennials & bulbs - annuals, perennials, bulbs; grasses, ground covers & climbers - grasses, ground covers, climbers; shrubs & trees - shrubs, project - plant training, trees; herbs, fruit & vegetables - herbs, fruit, vegetables. Autumn: overview of the season - a 'green' backyard, repotting, weeds, project - knee pad; annuals, perennials & bulbs - annuals, project - bamboo trellis, perennials, bulbs; grasses, ground covers & climbers - grasses, ground covers, climbers; shrubs & trees - shrubs, trees; herbs, fruit & vegetables - herbs, fruit, vegetables. Winter: overview of the season - garden design and detail, starting from scratch, pruning, the garden shed; annuals, perennials & bulbs - annuals, perennials, bulbs, project - plant a terrarium; grasses, ground covers & climbers - grasses, project - moss in a box, ground covers, climbers; shrubs & trees - shrubs, trees; herbs, fruit & vegetables - herbs, fruit, vegetables.
Review :
Do not dismiss this just because it is by an Australian gardener and about Australian gardens. It is a mine of information and inspiration, showing how talented Meredith Kirton is to the full. Written over the period of a year in her own garden, she discusses each season in depth - the highlights, the tasks, the pests, the projects to make the most of the seasons best. Most of the plants are readily available here and whilst many are grown outdoors all year round in Australia, they are more than happy to spend our winter in a conservatory or greenhouse. Lavishly illustrated and punctuated throughout with interesting asides, quotes and tips, it holds a wealth of horticultural know-how, chattily imparted with Meredith's easy style and underlined with solid horticultural expertise. Keen to share her fifteen years of gardening knowledge, her love of the subject is the book's strength and underlying theme. As she says in her introduction, "a garden starts but never finishes" and it is this fact that makes gardening a lifelong love to those who discover it. - Lucy Watson
