Home and Garden Recent Picks
September 2010
The title-underlined links will take you directly to our catalogue.
Some featured items are linked via a book cover to enable you to read more reviews.
Arts and crafts master : the houses and gardens of M.H. Baillie Scott, Ian MacDonald Smith.
"Practicing from the turn of the twentieth century to the beginning of the Second World War, Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott exerted a profound influence on English Arts and Crafts architecture and design as well as on the nascent modernist movement. As a leader of the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain, Baillie Scott adhered to the philosophy that good design should be made available to everyone and should extend from the planning of towns to the creation of dishes and doorknobs. Baillie Scott maintained a characteristically English dedication to the domestic landscape, designing houses and gardens whose exterior forms and interior details were rooted in a romantic vision of vernacular construction and craftsmanship. But his spatial planning signaled a revolution in the organization of interior space, with the development of the open plan—and the introduction of the demotic, modern living room—around the same time that Frank Lloyd Wright was engaging in similar experiments across the Atlantic." (Rizzoli New York).
Ulf Nordfjell : fourteen gardens, photographs by Jerry Harpur.
"Renowned for his dynamic blend of Swedish modernism and English romanticism, Ulf Nordfjell is one of the world's leading contemporary garden designers. This is the first book in English about his work. A master of composing with perennials, grass, and bulbs, Nordfjell also has a deep engagement with the landscapes that surround his gardens. Materials such as Swedish granite, steel, and timber give his gardens structure and a powerful identity, animated by water and light. Every detail of his composition is meticulously worked out, and the gardens reveal new aspects through the seasons. This book covers 14 of Nordfjell's gardens, including his 2009 Best in Show and 2007 Gold Medal gardens at Chelsea. Accompanying Ulf Nordfjell's thoughtful and lucid text are Jerry Harpur's superb photographs, which were taken over several years and represent the gardens in all seasons in both general views and details." (Syndetics).
Stylish papercraft : 25 contemporary projects for your home, Clare Youngs.
"Customize your home and create eco-friendly craftwork with these fun and inspirational papercraft projects, made from everything from recycled newspapers and junk mail to colourful tissue paper. Step-by-step instructions and beautiful photography guide you through the process of using paper to make 25 useful and unique designs, from decorative bowls and mobiles to stunning decorations. Every design is graded in skill level so you can start simply before progressing on to the more challenging projects."(Amazon.co.uk).
Teaming with microbes : the organic gardener's guide to the soil food web, Jeff Lowenfels & Wayne Lewis ; foreword by Elaine Ingham.
"Smart gardeners know that soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial, often toxic, substances. But there is an alternative to this vicious cycle. We can garden in a way that strengthens the soil food web the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. "Teaming with Microbes" extols the benefits of cultivating the soil food web. First, it clearly explains the activities and organisms that make up the web. Next, it explains how gardeners can cultivate the life of the soil through the use of compost, mulches, and compost tea. The revised edition updates the original text and includes two completely new chapters on mycorrhizae (beneficial associations fungi form with green-leaved plants) and archaea (single-celled organisms once thought to be allied to bacteria). With Jeff Lowenfels' help, everyone from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals can create rich, nurturing, living soil." (Amazon.co.uk).
The urban homestead : your guide to self-sufficient living in the heart of the city, Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen.
"This fun, hands-on guide shows anyone who lives in the city how to enjoy a more satisfying lifestyle and plant seeds for the sustainable future of our cities. If you ever thought of turning your lawn or balcony into a garden, making your own organic jam, raising chickens in the backyard or learning how to harness natural energy, here are dozens of step-by-step projects to get you started homesteading immediately. Projects include: How to grow food anywhere, How to compost with worms, How to preserve and ferment food, How to divert greywater to your garden, How to clean your house without toxins. Written by city-dwelling farmers, this illustrated, two-color handbook proposes a paradigm shift that will improve our lives, our community and our planet". (Book jacket).
Threatened plants of New Zealand, Peter de Lange ... [et al.].
"Providing the first full, comprehensive list of officially classified threatened New Zealand plants--186 threatened and 6 extinct native vascular plants--this ready reference contains the distinguishing features of each plant, the specific threat it faces, and its current distribution, enabling the user to identify threatened vascular plants by providing clear, technical botanical descriptions, notes, and full-color visuals. This handy guide was designed not only as an essential tool in the fight against extinction but also as a stunning showcase of the spectacular flora of New Zealand". (Syndetics).
Creating a forest garden : working with nature to grow edible crops, Martin Crawford.
"Forest gardening is a novel way of growing edible crops - with nature doing most of the work for you. A forest garden is modelled on young natural woodland, with a wide range of crops growing in different vertical layers. Unlike in a conventional garden, there is little need for digging, weeding or pest control. Species are carefully chosen for their beneficial effects on each other, creating a healthy system that maintains its own fertility. Creating a Forest Garden tells you everything you need to know - whether you want to plant a small area in your back garden, or have a larger plot. It includes advice on planning, design (using permaculture principles), planting and maintenance and a detailed directory of over 500 trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, annuals root crops and climbers, almot all of them edible and many very unusual. As well as more familiar plants you can grow your own chokeberries, goji berries, yams heartnuts, bamboo shoots and buffalo currants - while creating a beautiful space that has great environmental benefits. In the light of our changing climate it is important that we find new ways of growing food sustainably, without compromising soil health, food quality of biodiversity. Forest gardening offers an exciting solution to the challenge."(Amazon.co.uk).
Nina Campbell's decorating notebook : insider secrets and decorating ideas for your home, text by Alexandra Campbell ; photography by Jan Baldwin.
Ginny's herb handbook : a guide for New Zealand & Australian herb lovers, Ginny Clayton.
Essential storage : the back to basics guide to home design, decoration & furnishing, Terence Conran.
The pruning book, Lee Reich.
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