The Subtropical Garden by Gil Hanly & Jacqueline Walker ( Godwit1996).
This soft cover book is a great addition to the bookshelves of anyone living in New Zealand milder regions. The current fashion for tropical looking plants- palms, bromeliads, brugmanasias has introduced a range of flora that many conventional gardening books do not encompass.
The introduction covers the challenges and practical aspects of gardening in a sub-tropical climate. Those outside the subtropical region are encouraged to exploit microclimates in our gardens, and still enjoy some of the beauties illustrated in this book. Readers are encouraged to try more tender plants, even those that may have failed previously, and by providing the right conditions (drainage, shade, shelter from drying winds) achieve a more varied planting.
There are practical ideas for planning and developing a sub-tropical look, and the preparation and differences in approach necessary clearly explained. Jacqueline Sparrow points out that secateurs are a more vital tool for the subtropical gardening and that digging is mostly confined t the compost heap- subtropical borders are not dug, they are layered.
The book looks at those plants that add structure or 'architecture' to the garden, and those that are the 'soft furnishings'. The range from palms to large trees, bamboos and our native tree ferns is all covered, before moving on to look at the shrubs, perennials, orchids, water plants and climbers that add interest to these garden features. The sheer range of subtropical trees and other plants available is astounding and this book should encourage them to be more widely grown.
This is an informative and generally easy to read book (in places the text can drag slightly). . The section of recommended further reading is useful to enthusiasts. Gil Hanly's photographs of individual plants and gardens are inspirational. Another large plus is that this is a New Zealand book- the conditions described are New Zealand conditions and the plants are available here. There is even a list of suppliers. If you garden in the north, find a copy.
