BOOK REVIEWS

Best Borders

Tony Lord
Frances Lincoln, distributed by Bookwise International
$NZ51.95

THIS English book looks behind the scenes to discover how innovative gardeners have achieved herbaceous and mixed borders that are models of excellence. In doing so, Tony Lord has also created a model of excellence for garden books: Best Borders has won a Garden Writers' Guild Award.

Best Borders is based on discussions with the creators of some of England's best gardens, so it reveals how each order's distinctive style and individuality was attained.

Gloriously illustrated, this book is definitely a superb guide to planning, planting and maintaining any kind of garden border.

Contents include formal double borders; a border in the "mingled" style; double summer borders; borders with annuals; a purple border; contrasting double borders; a rainbow border; and bold mixed colour.

There are also chapters on borders with tender perennials; borders in a small town garden; and informal early summer borders.

The book has a clear English bias but it remains relevant, well indexed and very useful.

Weekend Gardener, Issue 93, February 28-March 13, 2002, Page 28

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH