BOOK REVIEWS

The Garden Sourcebook
The Essential Guide to Planning, Planting and Garden Style

Caroline Boisset
Mitchell Beazley, distributed by Reed
$NZ74.95

EDITED by Caroline Boisset, this British guide to all things gardening features some solid writers: between them Nigel Colborn, Stephen Anderton, Richard Bird and John Walker have published an entire library of reference books, so you know that the advice they give is eminently sensible.

The Garden Sourcebook aims to "help gardeners plan and create by providing the widest range of options" and as such, could be invaluable for gardeners just starting out. It covers a range of garden styles - cottage, Japanese, Victorian, classical and containers - and explains why design elements should be used to complement the planting.

More than 1000 plants are assembled in the Plant Selector at the back of the book. Because it is divided into categories to suit specific purposes, you can easily find the right plant to suit your needs. For example, if you're looking for plants to snuggle up to paving, you could try native Acaena microphylla, Ajuga reptans, Campanula portenschlagiana or baby's tears, to name a few.

Weekend Gardener, Issue 88, December 13-27, 2001, Page 30

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH