Remembered Gardens 1788-2000

Book excerpt: Elizabeth Macarthur sailed into the fledgling settlement of New South Wales in 1790, after a horrific voyage from England. As a comfort and a way to evoke home in this distant and foreign land, Elizabeth set about creating her remembered garden, filling it with roses and oak trees. Edna Walling came to gardening in the 1920s, one hundred and fifty years after Elizabeth's first encounter with the Australian 'wilderness'. Immediately captivated by the natural landscape and indigenous plants, she became a leading proponent of the Australian native garden. Through personal records and public archives, Holly Kerr Forsyth brings to life these women's experiences. Their challenging and sometimes tragic stories are set against the backdrop of their gardens, which provided them with sanctuary and a way to express themselves in this often hostile environment. For later women like Edna Walling and Kath Carr, gardens also allowed them to carve out a significant career and reputation. Beautifully illustrated, Remembered Gardens celebrates these women's lives with more than two hundred photographs of some of Australia's foremost gardens. It is a rich commemoration of more than two centuries of gardening in Australia and of the role of women in establishing a rich gardening heritage. Australia's gardens would not be the same without them.