Author(s): Jim Barrow (By (photographer), Illustrator, Based on a work by)

Gardening

The south west of Western Australia is a paradise for flower enthusiasts with an enormous variety of colourful and attractive plants. Jim Barrow was fascinated by them when he arrived in Western Australia in 1961 and so began a 60 year love affair. This book is one of the results. It consists of a series of illustrated essays, many of them about groups of plants. What is your favourite flowering gum tree? What is it that is characteristic of the protea family (for example banksias and grevilleas)? What makes a goodenia a goodenia? Did you know that some flowers release their pollen when they are visited by native bees which vibrate their wing muscles to create a buzz: they are buzz pollinated. But why do some buzz pollinated flowers have blue petals and gold anthers whereas others are uniformly yellow? Do plants in your garden simply die for no apparent reason? Perhaps you have a phytophthora infection; find out what to do about it. We are fortunate to have some cycads amongst our plants; these pre-date the dinosaurs by many millions of years. Although they are ancient they have many adaptations that we think of as being modern.The essays are meant for reading. They are written in an easy conversational style meant for enjoyment as well as enlightenment.