A love of gardening can also mean a love of books. When you find a general book on plants or something specific on a type of gardening technique it can be a real joy. However it is sometimes difficult to find gardening and plant books in general bookstores. Burke’s Backyard recently visited the bookstore Florilegium, managed by Gil Teague. The store specialises in botanical and gardening books from the modern authority to the antiquarian books that are beautiful as well as informative. So if you’re on the hunt for something in particular Gil Teague searches Australia wide as well as world wide on the internet to find books that are no longer available.
Book list
Carnations and Pinks by Galbally costs $55. Written by an engineer who grew carnations for 35 years.
Ornamental Conifers by Harrison costs $75. Includes pictures of every pine tree and cypress.
Gardening Downunder by Kevin Handreck costs $35. Details of preparing the soil in Australian gardens.
Australian Native Plants by Wrigley & Fagg costs $85. It is the book to refer to when planting native plants.
The Succulent Garden by Yvonne Cave costs $25. Looks at dry weather gardening in particular.
Growing Grevilleas by Don Burke published by Kangaroo Press is out of print. However a new edition is due to be released in 1999.
Further information
For the current catalogue of available books write to Florilegium, PO Box 644, Rozelle, NSW, 2039. Phone: (02) 9555 8589 or fax: (02) 9818 4409. Email: [email protected]