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The writer's picks range from the pretty to the purely practical.
WORDS CLAIRE AUSTIN
Starting or looking after a garden can be a daunting task. It can be hard to execute the style you love with climate limitations, which can make it an expensive game of trial and error. I find inspiration in lots of places — a visit to a friend’s place, Pinterest, Instagram, a wander around town streets. I recently visited the Sir George in Jugiong, New South Wales, where I was inspired by the evergreen plantings of sweet viburnum (Viburnum odoratissimum) combined with deciduous Manchurian pears (Pyrus ussuriensis) bedded with white gravel. I loved the French-style simplicity.
When starting my garden, I armed myself with beautiful coffee-table garden books and I looked for inspiration from the pretty gardens of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales and the high-rainfall zones of Victoria, although they are a far cry from the harsh climate of the Western Plains of New South Wales.
Claire Austin chats to Graziher’s Life on the Land podcast about spring time in the garden. Article continues below.
I still love a coffee-table book. They are a great starting point for inspiration. There’s something special about opening a glossy cover and flicking through shiny paper pages filled with beautiful images, marking and making notes of scenes you love and draw inspiration from. I love the downtime at night, when I sit on the sofa trawling through books, labelling pictures I love, trying to dissect the layers and how I could do something similar in my garden, using more appropriate plantings, of course. And these books are also a great conversation starter over a cuppa.
One of the most practical garden books I have ever purchased was the Yates Garden Guide, now in its 45th edition. I remember long ago being on holidays and sitting on the beach flicking between a photograph of my garden plan and the planting recommendations in the Garden Guide. It’s such a great resource, particularly for new gardeners.
Rural Australian Gardens
Myles Baldwin (Murdoch Books, 2010)
Showcasing rural and regional gardens across different climate zones, and stories of the people behind the garden.
The House and Garden at Glenmore: Landscape, Memory, Seasons, Home
Mickey Robertson (Murdoch Books, 2016)
The journey of Mickey’s restoration of the historic house and garden at Glenmore, near Camden in New South Wales, photographed through the seasons by Daniel Shipp.
Paul Bangay’s Country Gardens
Paul Bangay (Penguin Books, 2017)
A collection of 20 unique country gardens beautifully designed by Paul Bangay and photographed by Graziher contributor Simon Griffiths.
Beyond the Garden Gate
Jaqui Cameron (Thames & Hudson, 2018)
Tells the tales of some previously unseen private gardens through the seasons in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales.
Here are some lovely, more practical books, especially for those of us who are limited by water and soil! I’ve included some area specific e-books as well.
Yates Garden Guide
(45th Edition, 2021)
A great first book purchase. Provides information on planning a garden, soil, climate and details on plants.
Sophie’s Patch
Sophie Thomson (ABC Books, 2018)
One of my faves, particularly for vegetable gardening. Sophie shares her knowledge and it’s full of tips and great advice.
Desperate Gardenwives
(St John’s P&F, Trangie, 2007)
This book was published as a school fundraiser at Trangie, New South Wales, and is full of garden profiles and plant suggestions for this region. I love it.
Designing Your Home Garden
Glenice Buck
Glenice has a number of online resources for designing a garden, the art of gardening and common mistakes.
Claire Austin runs the Gin Gin Garden Club: gingingardenclub.com
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