People and Plants
By
Mary Ellis
Victoria is known as the Garden State. Gardening and horticulture have been important activities since the first settlements at Portland in 1834 and on the Yarra in 1835. Land was set aside for botanic gardens and horticultural purposes early in the life of the new colony. This history covers the development of public and private, town and country, hill station, allotment and native gardens. In particular it includes the history of the two horticultural societies and their interactions and influence on horticultural education. There are biographies of thirty-three interesting and influential gardeners and practical how-to-grow notes about popular garden plants, both exotic and indigenous, including their cultivation history in Australia.
The author, Mary Ellis, is a respected conservationist, well known in South Gippsland, where she has lived since 1984. Her other publications are "Virtuous Weeds", 1992, "A Traveller's Guide to South Gippsland Roadsides", 1995, and "Significant Trees of South Gippsland", 2002.
Reviews
'A valuable addition to the literature and history of Victorian horticulture'
Greg Moore Burnley Horticultural College
'Fills a void in the history of gardening in Victoria' Jill Thurlow
Herbarium Royal Botanic Gardens
'Painstakingly written and researched' Leila Shaw (Brunning descendant)
'A diverse and fascinating collection of information on Victorian
gardening' Andrew Seccull The Age
'The evolution of horticulture in Victoria presented in a thoroughly
readable text' Graeme Purdy The Herald Sun
The book is 172 pages A4 paperback with 7 pages colour plates, 44 black
and white portraits, 24 line drawings of plants and 11 black and white
illustrations. RRP $48.00
Available by mail order at the special price of $A40, including postage
and packing
(except overseas orders levy of $A10 to cover additional postage),
from Mary Ellis P O Box 67 Fish Creek Vic 3959 Australia,
Email maryellis@dcsi.net.au