Matt Morris (1)

This is a most interesting book focusing as it does on domestic or home gardens in Aotearoa New Zealand. The author has obviously combed the archives for material from across the country but it does inevitably have a Christchurch focus.
Photos both black and white and in colour support the text. There is a long index which is good but unfortunately some of the key themes are not listed e.g. whakapapa.
This book is unique in that it attempts to cover Maori gardening as well.
It exposes some key ideas and in doing so stimulates one to think about one's own gardening history and the gardens one has made or has lived in.
I really like the way he refers to gardens made by named people and if they have already been referred to - he tells the reader which chapter they are also mentioned in.
While Matt Morris has acknowledged Helen Leach's '1,000 Years of gardening in New Zealand', I would have liked to see that he had also consulted her title 'The Cook's garden: For cooks who garden and gardeners who cook' which she wrote with Mary Browne and Nancy Tichborne. This contains material about the practice of domestic gardening in New Zealand which could have added to his coverage.
This book could be a model for future gardening histories or local and regional garden histories.… (mer)