Garden vistas and soils

Press, 5 September 1987, Page 23

Garden vistas and soils

The Urban Woodland. By Suxanne J. Price. Lothian, 1986. 144 pp. $42.95. An Introduction to Garden Soils, Fertilisers and Water. By Kuan Goh. Bascands, Christchurch, 1987. 90pp. $21.95. (Reviewed by Derrick Rooney) I think it was Vita Sackville West, at Sissinghurst Castle, who pioneered the concept of compartment gardening — in which, within the framework of mutually compatible vistas, the garden is subdivided into self-contained compartments, each designed and planted according to a theme. The herb garden, the white garden, and the nut walk at Sissinghurst have been praised as epitomising this approach to garden design. More recently, the “garden room” concept has been advanced and refined by prominent English designers, such as John Brookes. Suzanne Price, a Melbourne garden designer and bulb grower, calls her garden compartments “pictures,” not rooms, but there is no doubting that “The Urban Woodland” is essentially an Australian development of this English theme. The transplant is quite .a comfortable one. The book is primarily aimed at the beginning gardener, and much of it is devoted to planning and maintenance, though there are chapters which give good advice on the selection of compatible trees, shrubs, bulbs, and perennials (the two pages on eucalypts should be required reading for all city gardeners). There is plenty of sound advice, too, on garden design, on establishment, and on watering and mulching.

By no means the least useful section of the book contains seven landscaping plans for plots of different shapes and aspects. These are accompanied by detailed plant selections which include notes indicating why each plant was chosen — very helpful for those to whom the names are unfamiliar. While hypothetical plans of this type can rarely be transplanted to a real site, they can be a basis from which, with a little imagination, the inexperienced (or not so inexperienced) gardener can make a garden of genuine merit. The book is well illustrated. Dr Goh is reader in soil science at Lincoln College, and his book, one of a locally-published series dealing with aspects of plants and gardens, is aimed at helping gardeners both to understand the processes going on below ground and to get the best out of their soil. The five chapters deal with soil composition, nutrient requirements, fertilisers, water, and ways of improving soil structure. Dr Goh makes free use of tables and diagrams to explain the relationships between soil, plants, and water, the use of fertilisers, and the relationships between plant growth, nutrients, and soil acidity or alkalinity. By and large it is written in a dear, direct style without fancy literary frills. Jargon has been avoided, and although some technical terms have been used, a glossary is included. This is not a book to be read as entertainment, but those gardeners who have a desire to know more about what goes on under the soil surface should find it useful.