BOOK REVIEWS

From Bud to Seed:
Great Annuals

Carol Sharp & Clare Foster
Conran Octopus
Distributed by Reed Publishing
$NZ34.95

THIS photographic book follows the development of ten popular annuals from bud to flower, through foliage to seedhead.

From Bud to Seed is an insight into the life stories of the Opium poppy; Love-in-a-mist; Candytuft; Castor-oil plant; Sunflower; Spider flower; Clary sage; Borage, Californian poppy and Honesty. It is amazing how beautiful each plant appears - even the dreadfully nasty castor oil plant, which is a shocking weed in warm regions here.

With its emphasis on close-up, soft-focus images, From Bud to Seed might appeal equally to photographers as to gardeners, but it does have practical information on cultivation, propagation, practical uses and pests and diseases for each plant featured.

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