Author: Dennis Greville

Publisher: Penguin $39.95

Many readers will know Dennis Greville from his regular contributions to New Zealand Gardener magazine.

He comes from a practical gardening background and that is the focus of this book – the use of New Zealand plants in a domestic garden setting. If you have ever thought our flora dull, then take a look at the mouthwatering photographs and some of the plant combinations. Most are close ups but there are also some lovely images of gardens which concentrate on native plants. Boring? No.

The book is structured in garden layers from creating the canopy (trees), through laying the carpet (groundcovers), positioning the furniture (shrubs) through to the final chapter on Getting It All Together. A little contrived perhaps, but a great motivating book for beginning gardeners (buy it as a gift for your adult children in their first home).

Technically it is a little superficial. The arrangement of the photographs, captions and index takes some decoding and is at times downright irritating (the absence of page numbers on the full colour photographic pages does not make it easy, especially when you can get up to seven such pages in a row with related captions appearing elsewhere). This is not a comprehensive reference. It is a large format, colourful, motivational book with sufficient information to get you started on your native garden.

Author: Andrew Steens

Publisher: Random House, Godwit $45

The opening words of this new book by an eminent New Zealand specialist grower read:

This is a book for gardeners who have progressed from having a garden full of mixed plants, with 20 to 30 different bromeliads, to being completely addicted to bromeliads, with a bromeliad collection that is taking over the house, the conservatory and the lawn, prompting mutterings of enclosing the whole property in one large greenhouse.

Taken literally, that should narrow the potential readership to a few score only because while broms are a common feature these days and enjoy a popularity which rivals conifers in the seventies, most gardeners still prefer to do some mixing and matching.

But this is the best book around for the aficionado. The beginner may be better with Steens’ 2003 book, “Bromeliads for the Contemporary Garden” because that focuses more on the use of these curious plants in gardens and landscaped settings as well as giving sound cultural information and technical info on the different genera. This new book is dedicated to those who are hooked on the rare and the exotic, to collectors rather than gardeners. It covers hybridising and importing but the greater part of the book is specialised technical detail on individual members of the extended brom family.

It has many gorgeous photographs and good information written by an author who is passionate about his topic and who makes it readable. It is a great specialist book. It is just a shame that Random House are economising so much on the production of their books – I have the same complaint that I had on the recent Julian Matthews book from this publisher. It has a cheap and nasty cover which curls and bends and will not last the distance.

Author: Derek Fell

While Monet is best known as one of the foremost Impressionist artists around the turn of last century, he was also a serious gardener and his Giverny garden, an hour northwest from Paris, has been restored and is open to the public. While traditionally French gardening was marked by formal design, parterres and mass bedding plants, Monet married formal design with billowing plantings achieved with flowers and colour.

In this lavish book (it is positively cheap for a well presented hardback full of 200 photographs), Derek Fell sets out to present the garden in all its glory and to decode the secrets of colour and plant management which Monet worked hard to achieve. As an Impressionist, Monet is renowned for his fascination with light and it is the incorporation of light and colour theory which sets this garden apart. You need to read the book to get to grips with shimmer and back lighting in the garden setting.

While the author’s interpretation of colour theory may not satisfy artists (after all, artists know black and white are not colours) and is at times a little attenuated, he does a very good job of presenting it for gardeners. It is pleasing to see a garden book which is strongly focussed on plants and colour and where the formal design elements of gardening are acknowledged but only as a background for the dynamic plantings.

This is not only an attractive book to have, it will give the keen gardener a good understanding of colour theory and planting combinations for those who like gardens full of plants and flowers and managed through different seasons.

Author: Kathy Ombler

Publisher: New Holland, $34.99

I have no idea how many dedicated bird watchers there are in this country but presumably the number is sufficiently large to warrant this charming book. It is subtitled “More than 30 of the country’s best birding locations” (Taranaki, apparently, is not one of them because it is not mentioned) although the author makes it clear that it is not a definitive guide to the entire country.

At one level, this book is a clearly written guide for those who plan their holidays around birding (location, how to get there and how to find your way around once you are there, birds of the area, accommodation, useful contacts, additional reading etc). There are many subheadings, boxes and maps which presents the information clearly but few photos so one clearly needs to carry other books to identify the birds. But at another level, it is one of those quirky, highly specialised books which is nice to have in the bookcase even if you are not an ardent birder. It is full of interesting little bits of information about the areas and about conservation in general in our country.

It is certainly worth having if you holiday around the country or if you host overseas visitors who are interested in nature generally. I won’t be giving my copy away.

Author: Philippa Jamieson

Publisher: New Holland, $29.99

Wwoofers started life as “Willing Workers on Organic Farms” and have since been renamed as “Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms” – a system whereby travellers can exchange half a day of labour for full bed and board with various hosts throughout this country and overseas. The author spent two and half years wwoofing her way around this country, somewhat unusual in that most of her fellow travellers are young adventurers from overseas whereas she hails from Dunedin.

In recent times, organics has become increasingly mainstream and Philippa Jamieson’s book is a fund of information for people who want to manage their home vegetable patch or lifestyle block on organic principles. Whether you want to know about pruning fruit trees, the use of comfrey or milking a goat, it is likely to be mentioned. However the index only refers to people and places so you will have to read the whole thing, not use it as a ready reference book. That said, it is an easy reading narrative, at best lyrical but at worst descending into some purple prose. The author’s fervour for biodynamics and some of the more fringe aspects of organics, along with its extremely PC nature, may get in the way for more pragmatic readers but it is a good yarn, an excellent insight into a different way of living and there is a wealth of information conveyed with clarity.