1,000 YEARS OF GARDENING IN NEW ZEALAND

Tu Tangata, Issue 19, 1 August 1984, Page 37

1,000 YEARS OF GARDENING IN NEW ZEALAND

—R.M. Henden

Publisher: Reed-Methuen Author: Helen Leach, Line drawings Nancy Tichborne

Helen Leach has garnered her material from varied and far ranging areas of the world. Successfully blending the commonplace and the exotic in a comprehensive history of kitchen gardening through the ages. Each of the following seven sections have been carefully and painstakingly researched over a number of years. 1. Why should we study garden history in New Zealand? 2. The gardens of tropical Polynesia. 3. Archaeological remains of pre- European Maori gardening. 4. The course of Maori gardening. 5. The development of the english kitchen-gardening tradition. 6. Kitchen gardens in the nineteenth century. 7. Gardening in the twentieth century. As well as interesting text and fine drawings the book contains photographs, maps, a glossary of common and botanical names of vegetables and fruits, references, bibliography and index. To the most casual of gardeners, the

perusal of ‘I,OOO years of Gardening in New Zealand’ brings, not only a new perspective, but a sense of history of moving forward from the ancient to the modern in fascinating stages. Each plant, its propagation and cultivation, every tool and implement embodies its own record of development. This book deals with origins and the movement of plant life from Southeast Asia, New Guinea, the Middle East and the Mediterranean to find relocation and growth in New Zealand. To Maori or European this should not be dismissed as just another gardening book. It is a wonderful living history with beautiful illustrations by Nancy Tichborne. It brings to life all the archaeological magic and extraordinary progress of horticulture as practised in New Zealand for over a thousand years. The archaeologist, historian, horticulturist or just the man with a small kitchen garden, will find much of interest in this excellent book.