BOOK REVIEWS

The Outdoor
Room

Jamie Durie
Photography by Simon Kenny
Allen & Unwin
$NZ59.95

THE sequel to Jamie Durie's bestselling debut book, Patio, offers more ideas for contemporary urbanites wanting to turn their tiny courtyards and suburban sections into outdoor oases.

Jamie Durie, one of Australia's hottest young landscape designers and television celebrities, likes big slabs of recycled steel and sculptural subtropicals. He likes dramatic gardens with bold lighting and outdoor bathrooms. He isn't so keen on flower beds and borders though, and while The Outdoor Room is long on good looks, it's short on substance. Which is a shame, because his landscape designs are often extraordinary.

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