The Old Country: Australian Landscapes, Plants and People

We are a nation of gardeners, and we take pleasure in tending our backyards. But this pleasure sits uneasily with our knowledge that the places where most of us live are running out of water. We suspect that our lawns and many of our plants from the damp climates of northern European gardens are too demanding of scarce supplies, but can’t imagine our streets and gardens without them. The Old Country opens our eyes, and minds, to other possibilities. It does so by telling us stories about our natural landscape.   George Seddon believed that the better we understand the delicacy and beauty of our natural environment, the more ‘at home’ we will feel as Australians. This passionate, wise and witty book, enriched with breathtakingly beautiful illustrations, suggests that the answers to our water problems lie here, at home.

1. Introduction; 2. First encounters; 3. The Boab; 4. Learning; 5. The Conifers; 6. The Banksias; 7. Mediterraneity; 8. On being deciduous; 9. By design; 10. Weeds; Epilogue.