R45,00
1 in stock
Down to Earth perfectly sums up this functional new aid for the South African gardener by two men who work in a nursery every day of their lives. Down to Earth
by Keith Kirsten
| Weight | 0,2 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 10 × 5 × 2 cm |
Even the tiniest patio, balcony or window sill can be transformed into a place of pleasure and beauty if it is skillfully decorated with plants. This imaginative and realistic book explains how to create gardens in miniature. It covers every aspect of patio and container gardens, whether paving plants or terrace shrubs, cascading hanging baskets, sinks and alpine troughs, profusely planted tubs or brilliant window boxes. One in a series of beautifully illustrated books which contain around 230 photographs and paintings.
When Eve Palmer first began to plant her hot hillside garden in Pretoria over thirty-five years ago, she knew instinctively what she wanted – the wild trees of the South African countryside. Although indigenous trees had not yet become fashionable and not much was known about their cultivation, she set out, undaunted, on a lifelong experiment that was to culminate in two major pioneering works on the subject.
Into her garden, then, came trees remembered from her Karoo childhood, trees described by travellers, trees renowned for their medicinal or magic uses, trees rich in historical association. Later came their natural companions – the wild ground covers, climbers, creepers, shrubs. Only one foreigner – the rose – was admitted.
In Under the olive she pays a personal tribute to the trees and plants of her garden and the pleasures they have brought her: shade and shelter; shape, foliage and bark; flowers and fruit; colour; scent; food; birds and butterflies.
The catalogue of her pleasures – “holds upon happiness”, she calls them – is interwoven with a wealth of anecdotes, reminiscences, sketches of people and most readable book will be a source of inspiration to experienced and would-be gardeners for a long time to come.
Condition: Interior As new/slight wear on dust jacket
Many of the flowers and fruits growing in our gardens and greenhouses today were brought to the West by collectors or traders. This book describes the origins of these plants, with quotations from the people of Asia who first appreciated, cultivated and wrote about them. Almost all the illustrations are by Asian and Middle Eastern artists, some of them hired by European collectors. Celia Fisher begins with an account of the long history of gardens in the East, and of how Eastern plants and botanical knowledge came to be transmitted to Europe. This is followed by seventy-four alphabetical plant entries, ranging from acacia to wisteria, each illustrated with wonderful pictures from a range of books, manuscripts, paintings and drawings. A must-have for every gardener and appreciator of beautiful artwork, this sumptuously illustrated handbook describes over seventy plants that originated in Asia and the Middle East.
