Dicksonia Rare Plants Manual
written by Stephen Ryan
illustrated by Craig Lidgerwood

This is the definitive guide to rare plants with detailed descriptions of more than 2,000 hard to get plants. Stephen Ryan's thoroughly researched and totally readable guide to rare plants in Australia, Dicksonia Rare Plants Manual is an offshoot of Stephen's own nursery catalogue. It was so much in demand that he turned it into this book.

The book, at first, seems dedicated to the serious gardener, but peppered with Stephen's offbeat humour, it will be enjoyed by any gardening enthusiast. It is both a comprehensive and scholarly gardener's reference and an entertaining read - a truly rare mix.

This will be a book to thrill gardeners seeking a guide to every type of unusual, difficult to obtain and out of the ordinary plant.

Stephen Ryan starting working in his father's nursery aged 10, and in 1980 started his own nationally recognised nursery, Dicksonia Rare Plants. He writes regularly for the media, appears on ABCs Gardening Australia and lectures in Australia and overseas. He also leads tours to unusual places (e.g. Madagascar).
Craig Lidgerwood combines his passion for plants with a considerable talent for botanical illustration as evidenced in this book.

Dicksonia Rare Plants is located at 686 Mt. Macedon Rd., Mt Macedon, Victoria
(closed Wed & Thurs).

Dicksonia Rare Plants Manual, Stephen Ryan, RRP $29.95, published by Hyland House Publishing, distributed by Australian Book Group.

Herbs for Australian Gardens
A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Organic Herbs
(completely revised & updated 3rd edition)
by Penny Woodward (with illustrations by Fran Gilbert)

I do not envy the task of anyone who sets out to write a better book on herbs
T.R. Garnett, The Age

Thoroughly researched and beautifully presented, Herbs for Australian Gardens includes more than 300 common and unusual herbs from many different cultures.
This completely rewritten third edition of Australian Herbal makes the information more accessible than earlier editions and strengthens its environmental credentials.

 It is still the most comprehensive herb book written in Australia for our unique Australian conditions. There are now more herbs, new photographs, droplet notations that indicate the drought tolerance of each plant and a section on water efficient gardening. The more than 40 pages of detailed tables are carefully laid out and make for quick and easy access to information ranging from shade tolerance, flower colour and weedy potential to culinary and medicinal uses.

This best-selling herb ' bible' also contains a fully illustrated A-Z of herbs, chapters on growing new herbs, organic gardening, cultivation and planning, insect repellent herbs, companion planting, picking and preserving, culinary and medicinal uses, useful weeds and Australian natives, and much more.

Penny Woodward has a Bachelor of Science, with majors in Botany and Zoology. She is the author of several bestselling books including Garlic and Friends, Australian Herbal, Asian Herbs and Vegetables, Pest-Repellent Plants and Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies and co-author of Community Gardens. She regularly contributes articles and photographs to newspapers and magazines and is a regular guest expert on talkback radio. She is married, has two teenage children and lives on the Mornington Peninsula.

Herbs for Australian Gardens, Penny Woodward, RRP $39.95, published by Hyland House Publishing, distributed by Australian Book Group

Contemporary Australian Garden Design
Secrets of leading garden designers revealed
By John Patrick and Jenny Wade

This is the kind of book every one of us should have. It's the words of wisdom, the skill and the imagination of our greatest garden designers. -Peter Cundall

This book by Jenny Wade and John Patrick is beautifully written and designed and is a must read for all garden enthusiasts. - Dame Elisabeth Murdoch

Join Gardening Australia's John Patrick and gardening enthusiast Jenny Wade on a tour of twenty of Australia's most beautiful gardens. This book captures the essence of contemporary Australian gardening through its profiles of leading garden designers and their most innovative and appealing gardens. Learn how they approach a design brief, create planting schemes and overcome site problems for all styles of garden, from seaside to country to inner city courtyard.

The designers profiled are:
Paul Bangay; Fiona Brockhoff; Jamie Durie; Rick Eckersley; Jeremy Ferrier; Marisa Fontes; Peter Fudge; Harris & Hobbs; Healy & Huxtable; Dean Herald; Arno King; Mira Martinazzo; Georgina Martyn; Michael McCoy; Janine Mendel; John Patrick; Suzan Quigg; Catherine Shields; John Sullivan; Taylor & Cullity.

Contemporary Australian Garden Design includes design tips that show readers how to apply the designer's innovative ideas in their own gardens, as well as a comprehensive introduction that puts current design practice in Australia into an historical and cultural context.
Beautifully photographed and designed, each garden profiled in the book showcases the talent that has enabled these designers to lead the field in contemporary garden design, both in Australia and overseas.

John Patrick lectured at Burnley Horticultural College until 1988 then established a small landscape architectural practice that he continues to operate today. He was instrumental in opening gardens for Victoria's Sesquicentenary in 1985; a project that led to the development of Australia's Open Garden Scheme. He appeared for several years on Burke's Backyard and since 2001 he has been a presenter on ABC TV’s Gardening Australia. John has written several books about gardens and plants, travels widely to enjoy landscapes (including gardens) and frequently speaks at conferences in Australia and overseas.

Jenny Wade is a graduate of landscape design and horticulture from Melbourne University and has been involved in the organisation of the Australian Landscape Conference.

Contemporary Australian Garden Design, John Patrick and Jenny Wade, RRP $69.95, published by ABC books