Stonefields by the Seasons by Paul Bangay

$65.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table | Reading Level: very good

Paul Bangay's celebrated Victorian property, Stonefields, has now been under his expert care for 15 years. Today, his vision is complete and the garden is mature and more beautiful than ever. In this new book, Paul takes the reader through the changing seasons to highlight different aspects of the garde n and the trusted design and planting principles he has applied at Stonefields. From the vibrant autumn colours in the woodland, to the jubilant flowering of the crab apple trees in October and the harvesting of vegetables in the summer, this is a delightful and exquisitely photographed journey through the garden that tells the story of its evolution since The Garden at Stonefields was published in 2013. Sharing practical advice, too, Paul explains the gardener's essential quarterly tasks as well as his favourite and recommended plants for each season. But this is also a beautiful book of reflection on a much-loved garden to which a gardener has dedicated many years of time and care. Looking back on all he has achieved in this treasured space, Paul muses on creativity, achievements and disappointments, the human connection to the changing Australian landscape and the inevitabilities of change and the passage of time. More than just an intimate tour around Stonefields today, this book is an invitation to reflect on the meaning and rich rewards of gardening itself.   ...Show more

Drawn to the Wild - Paintings of New Zealand Birds by Nicolas Dillon

$60.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table | Reading Level: near fine

Nicolas Dillon is one of New Zealand's leading wildlife painters, who has built a reputation over the last 30 years for his masterful portraits of our wildlife, in particular birds. His evocative, moody paintings are deeply considered observations of nature and the environment. At the heart of his pract ice is drawing in the field. Using a high-powered spotting scope, he works quickly to capture the living character of the birds he is observing. This book beautifully illustrates his working process by combining many of the drawings and watercolour sketches done directly from life, with finished paintings completed in his studio. Nicolas Dillon is motivated by a deep yearning to connect with something beyond what he sees. 'It's about an intimacy or a closeness, a feeling for nature that I am trying to put across in the paintings.' With drawings, sketches and paintings of most of our bird species, as well as text from the author to capture something of his experience of painting the featured birds, this book is a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to New Zealand's birdlife. ...Show more

Landmarks by Owen Marshall; Grahame Sydney; Brian Turner

$75.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table | Reading Level: near fine

A handsome, landmark book celebrating the work of three of our literary and artistic heavyweights. The complementary work of artist Grahame Sydney, fiction writer Owen Marshall and poet Brian Turner was first brought together in the hugely successful Timeless Land in 1995. Its pages showed their shared, deep connection to Central Otago, to its vast skies, its wide plains punctuated by jagged ranges, its unique colours and its dwarfing effect on the people who pass through it. Twenty-five years later, this lavish new volume from these three long-time friends showcases a rich selection of their subsequent work, including recently written, previously unpublished pieces. Through their own marks about the land and its people, be it in ink or paint, they offer a love song to the South Island, in particular Central Otago. ...Show more

Topdressing Daze

$33.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table

The Land Gardeners - Cut Flowers by Bridget Elworthy; Henrietta Courtauld

$90.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table

This is the story of The Land Gardeners, creators of productive gardens and stunning bundles of cut flowers. Based in the original walled garden at Wardington Manor, The Land Gardeners have revived the tradition of working with the land to produce abundant, seasonal flowers for clients' use in decoratio n, design and events. But for all the frivolous, bucolic beauty of the flowers, it is the productivity and health of the soil that truly underpins The Land Gardeners' philosophy. The book explores lively soil, the joy (and, arguably, necessity) of gathering from our gardens, and the imperative that we care for our soils and live among healthy, vital gardens. Chapters include: The Land Gardeners - how Bridget Elworthy (New Zealand) and Henrietta Courtauld (England) created The Land Gardeners in 2012, their background in growing and designing, their philosophy.A Floral History - how it all began in the walled garden at Wardington Manor, Oxfordshire, England. Creation of a Cutting Garden - the fundamental importance of soil health. The life in the soil: how we improve it, how we feed it, how we make compost. The importance of organic and biodynamic growing.The Flower Room - gathering, preparing, arranging and selling.A Year of Flowers - growing throughout the year: spring (narcissi, tulips, hesperis); summer (roses, peonies, delphiniums, scabious, ammi); autumn (cosmos, dahlias, gladiolus); winter (bulbs, aconites, snowdrops, berries, hips).Your Cut-Flower Garden - creating cut-flower borders; planting and growing; feeding the soil; growing under cover; tools; staking and supports.Growing Cut Flowers - The Land Gardeners' favourite flowers: roses, peonies, dahlias, bulbs, annuals, perennials, foliage, shrubs and trees.Resources - books; websites for information on cutting gardens; suppliers of plants; seed companies; tools and equipment. ...Show more

Native Birds of New Zealand by David Hallett

$30.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table

Native Birds of New Zealand is a photographic book of New Zealand native birds that will appeal to the casual bird-watcher as well as the ornithologist. Many books in the past have been aimed at the serious ornithologist, with illustrations designed to show distinct feather patterns but not to create an image that is also pleasing to the eye. The photographs in this book have been taken by David Hallett, one of New Zealand's leading wildlife photographers, who captures the beauty of New Zealand's native birds in their natural environment, from the subtropical north to the Sub-Antarctic Islands, and from the oceans to the alpine meadows of the Southern Alps. The text is kept short and avoids the in-depth academic material found in some of the very good reference books on the market. It does include all the interesting facts that set our native birds apart, presented in a short, concise format that makes the book ideal for browsing. With the advent of digital photography, many more birders are now equipping themselves with cameras as well as binoculars when they go into the field, creating an increasing awareness of wildlife photography. This trend, combined with the affection New Zealanders have for their native birds, makes Native Birds of New Zealand a book that will have widespread appeal. ...Show more

Our Spaces: Contemporary New Zealand Interiors by Alana Broadhead

$70.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table

A sourcebook of ideas for contemporary interiors. Our Spaces takes you room by room through some of New Zealand's most stylish and inspiring homes - spaces that are relaxed yet refined, modest yet modern. Both aspirational and instructional, Our Spaces features over 400 beautiful photographs, alongside hundreds of ideas and insights pulled from each space, for yours. Discover not only what makes a space beautiful, but also what makes it meaningful. ...Show more

Black Barn: portrait of a place by Gregory O'Brien and Jenny Bornholdt (authors); Brian Culy (photographer)

$85.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table | Reading Level: very good

Meandering across the foothills of Te Mata Peak and through the Tuki Tuki Valley, Black Barn Vineyards has become one of Hawke's Bay's most popular attractions. Its evolution over the past 20 years is a story of enterprise and creativity - from a single cottage into a wine, food and luxury accommodation destination. Owners Kim Thorp and Andy Coltart envisioned not just a vineyard but a unique environment that would entice people to stay. With a collection of stylish yet low-key retreats, Black Barn is one of the most sought-after getaways in the region, while the vineyard, bistro, growers' market and outdoor amphitheater are a drawcard for locals and tourists alike.Black Barn- portrait of a place is a fitting tribute to a Hawke's Bay landmark. Lavishly photographed by Brian Culy, with text and poetry contributed by Gregory O'Brien and Jenny Bornholdt, and recipes from the Black Barn Bistro menu, it's the next best thing to being there yourself. ...Show more

Charles Latham's Gardens of Italy: From the Archives of "Country Life" by Helena Attlee

$60.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table

In the spring of 1903, Country Life's first staff photographer, Charles Latham, set off from London's Victoria station with his large-format camera and several boxes of fragile glass negatives bound for Rome. He spent the months that followed photographing some of Italy's finest historic gardens. In all , Latham photographed thirty-seven gardens, and his powerfully evocative pictures were published by Country Life in 1905 in two volumes under the title of The Gardens of Italy, with a text by the well known contemporary garden writer, Evelyn March Phillipps. Latham's photographs were immediately acclaimed and the images are characteristic of his work in their exceptional clarity. As a result of the political turmoil that overtook Italy in the nineteenth century, many of the gardens had already fallen into a state of picturesque decrepitude; others, around Florence, had been taken over by English and American expatriates and were in the process of restoration. But even though some of the aristocratic owners and their gardeners might have gone, the elaborate architecture, statuary and ingenious waterworks which Renaissance designers so admired remained largely intact and were brilliantly captured in all their faded magnificence by Latham's camera. Today, many of these gardens have vanished, destroyed by social upheaval and war, though a few were painstakingly restored in the post-war years. Charles Latham's outstanding compositions bear testament to the rich heritage of some of Italy's great gardens in the golden age just before the First World War. The 200 superbly reproduced photographs are accompanied by Helena Attlee's incisive commentary on twenty-one of these magnificent Renaissance and Baroque gardens. Helena Attlee has made Italy and its gardens her special subject for over twenty years. A leading authority on garden history, she writes for a range of journals and magazines, lectures widely, and leads specialist tours to Italy, France and Portugal. She is the author of several books, including Italian Gardens, A Cultural History (2006). ...Show more

Discover China: Cultural Icons by eds.

$30.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table

This magnificent book showcases many of the most awe-inspiring temples, palaces, monuments and man-made structures ever created. China's incredibly rich cultural history began many thousands of years ago, and while everyone has heard of the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Terr acotta Army, lesser known but equally amazing are the tulou (earth houses) of the Hakka people, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, that has been providing flood control and irrigation for farming for over 2000 years, and the incredible art of the Dazu Rock Carvings. China is built upon ancient foundations and across this vast land are scattered cultural relics that have a huge significance for the world. The long, uninterrupted story of China's past, combined with the many cultural icons that have survived to the present, offer a unique window on the development of one of the world's great civilisations, and a way to learn about the important role China plays in the story of our world, both in the past and today. Selected and described by Chinese experts, the sites are illustrated with over 300 superb photographs, an introduction and extended captions and maps, telling the stories behind many of China's most significant cultural places. ...Show more

How We Live Now - Making Your Space Work Hard for You by Rebecca Winward

$50.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table

When the housing market takes a dip, fewer of us move as we just can't afford it. That's the time to take a long hard look at your home and work out how to make the most of every room - even every corner. Perhaps you're trying to carve out more space to accommodate a growing family, or maybe you're wond ering where you can squeeze in a home office, a utility room or a kids' playroom. Whatever your particular needs, in How We Live Now Rebecca Winward explores ways to make your home work harder for you. She explores open-plan living, opting for more flexible room configurations, and using pockets of 'dead space' - under the stairs, on the landing or in the garden - that have unrecognised potential. Multitasking furniture and smart storage both have their role to play, as does versatile lighting. Streamline everyday life with How We Live Now. ...Show more

Scott Freeman: New Zealand Photographs by Scott Freeman

$40.00 NZD

Category: Coffee Table

Scott Freeman is a landscape photographer. This book presents a collection of over 100 of his finest photographs. They are all New Zealand landscapes, ranging from the coast and offshore islands to forest interiors, rivers, glaciers and mountains. Introduction by Brian Turner. Price reduction July 200 9 from $50 to $25. First published 2000. ...Show more