A Guided Discovery of Gardening: Knowledge, Creativity and Joy Unearthed

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For some, gardening is a mysterious activity involving muck, unfathomable know-how and physical labor. To others, it is a gateway to creativity, well-being and magic. Julia Atkinson-Dunn knows what it is to stand on both sides of this fence and has channeled her discovery of gardening into a book to aid and inspire others in their own.
A Guided Discovery of Gardening is a comprehensive partner in creating a garden, arranged to sweep beginner and progressing gardeners through informative basics to fascinating insights laid bare through Julia's casual, friendly and often personal writing. From introductions to plant types and taking cuttings to valuable tips for home buyers and the curation of seasonally responsive planting. Particularly relevant to temperate regions around the world including the US and Canada, rich doses of handy knowledge are intermingled with reflective essays and visual visits to some of her favourite New Zealand gardens, as well as her own.
"Treat this book as your trusted friend. A place you can return to time and again for positive reinforcement as you embark on your own journey of discovering the beautiful rewards found in creating a garden, just as I have." Julia Atkinson-Dunn

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

8 My discovery of gardening

Section one - Beginner guides

14 Intro

20 Plant types

26 Garden equipment

34 Botanical plant names

42 Pollination

48 a visit to: Flaxmere garden

58 Collecting from seed

62 Growing from seed

70 Restocking your garden beds

76 Garden centre shopping

80 Putting your garden to bed

88 Structure in the garden

96 Watering in dry spells

Section two - Tips & tricks

102 Intro

108 Starting a garden

116 Valuable advice for your first home

122 Mistakes I made as a new gardener

128 A visit to: No. 11

138 Gardening tips from the wise

142 Garden visits

146 Finding your community

150 Photographing your garden

102 Tips & tricks

Section three - Planting

160 Intro

166 Climate-resilient gardening

174 The New Perennial Movement

180 A visit to: Fisherman's Bay

192 Cut and come again

196 Trees and your garden

202 Privacy and fences

206 food or flowers?

214 Mix up your flower shapes

222 Umbellifers

230 Eager seeders

238 Part-shade plants

246 a visit to: the blue house

258 Bedding plants

266 Bold-bloomed perennials

272 Hardy annuals

280 Flowers and fragrance

284 Knowing your narcissi

290 Blossom

Section four - The enchanting garden

296 Intro

302 Your garden, your way

308 houseplants

312 Garden friends

318 Tuning into the seasons

324 A visit to: Gilroy Nurseries

336 the promise of buds

342 The language of plants

346 The sentimental garden

352 My garden forgives me

356 The garden is a refuge

360 A visit to: My garden

378 Index

380 Thank you

 

"Julia is a talented writer, clever with a camera, and her flower arrangements have a simple spontaneity which are easy to follow. The plants she has chosen to be in this book create an ethereal airiness in gardens. Julia's little tips on growing from seed will be treasured by all who are interested in beginning a new garden or revamping an older one, at whatever stage in life. The summaries on each of her 12 favourite plants show a deep and natural understanding of the plant world." --Penny Zino, Flaxmere Garden (NZGT 6-star Garden of International Significance) on Petal Power

"It's a book of two halves, beginning with a good digestible advice on types of plants, tools you'll need, plant care and design principles. But it's mostly given over to celebrating her 12 favourite plants which are largely whimsical such as cosmos, sweet peas and snapdragons. It has lovely photographs and rounds out with a guide to picking and arranging, and has recommendations for other resources. " --NZ House and Garden on Petal Power

 

On moving into the house of her dreams in her mid-30s, designer, artist and writer Julia Atkinson-Dunn stared wide-eyed at the clean slate of her boring backyard with a bubbling excitement that felt foreign. Her passion for beautiful spaces had only ever been held for interiors, or so she thought. Over six years she clawed forward with dirt under her nails and a toppling pile of gardening books by her bed, pursuing a vision that simply seemed to reveal itself as she went. The flower beds ebbed, flowed and expanded with her experimentation, buoyed by her new gardening friends and backstopped by her constantly gathered experience. Julia lives with her husband in Christchurch, New Zealand from where she has authored and photographed Petal Power and Flowers for Friends, maintaining an ongoing conversation with her fellow keen gardeners via her Instagram, newsletter and column. She works closely with the garden community as a speaker and host at festivals and events, advocating the magic of gardening to her peers. Her garden has opened further doors aiding her art practice concentrated on mixed media botanical still lifes and painted landscapes.

 

Koa Press

Pub Date: February 6, 2024

1.6" H x 9.1" L x 6.9" W

384 Pages

Paperback