BOOK REVIEWS

Ultimate Topiaries
The Most Magnificent
Horticultural Art Through The Years

Elizabeth Buckley
Courage Books
Distributed by Southern Publishers Group
$NZ24.95

THIS book certainly has an evocative subtitle - The Most Magnificent Horticultural Art Through The Years - but fails to live up to its promise. Certainly, there are some interesting snippets, notably on American Harvey Smith Ladew II and his 50-year topiary venture on a Maryland estate. The flyleaf text hints at how-to with questions like "Do you want to astound guests at dinner parties with sublime décor?" Don't be misled. Apart from a few words on topiary tools and a review of five topiary trees and shrubs - bay, boxwood, holly, lonicera, olive and yew - there's not much to point you in the right direction. The price suggests that this book may be headed for the bargain bin.

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