Flowers in N.Z. gardens

Press, 25 January 1986, Page 20

Flowers in N.Z. gardens

Flower Gardening in Now Zealand. By Ralph Ballinger. Caxton Press, 1985. 124 pp. Illustrations. $14.95. This book, the third in a series by Ralph Ballinger, is a practical guide to the culture of garden flowers, mainly concentrating on the production and culture of annuals and perennials. It is extremely well produced and copiously illustrated with clear diagrams, many black and white photographs, and some good quality colour plates. Unfortunately, although the author acknowledges the desirability for small trees and shrubs as part of the flower garden, there is a preponderance of illustrations of the “blaze of colour in the borders” school where brightly: coloured bedding plants and edging: plants jostle for

prominence. A few of the illustrations show imaginative use of colour, such as a delightfully cool silvery*mauve combination of cinerarias, begonias and lacy vlscaria. Others are rather uninspiring,' where the form and habit of the plants are subservient to the dazzling blocks of colour which can be produced en masse. For instance, probably few people would be uplifted at the sight of standard roses underplanted with. harsh, chrome -yellow French marigolds. And what happens to some of these flower borders in wintef? Do they become dull areas of dereliction? A more imaginative and discriminating use of the illustrations in colour would have added much to the appeal , of this book.—Thelma Strongman.