Mail Order Bookshop for Gardeners and Growers

Touchwood Books is a mail order business specialising in books about gardening and farming: in fact anything that grows.

With about 20,000 new and second hand titles currently on their bookshelves, all are listed at www.touchwoodbooks.co.nz.

Touchwood Books is a family run business started by Peter and Diane Arthur in 1987.  It is set in the rural heartland of New Zealand, operating from Peter and Diane’s sheep and beef farm some 55kms from Hastings on the Gentle Annie road to Taihape.

Ace Packer Tracey, in charge of posting, sends books all over the world. Husband Graham is the computer boffin, and together these two run things while Diane and Peter are away at various shows like Mystery Creek Farm Fieldays.

Tracey will post anywhere in the world and will source books for you on any subject.  There is a Book Club and regular lists of books at special prices.

GREAT BOOKS FROM TOUCHWOOD BOOKS

Postage and packaging $5.00 per order unless otherwise stated.

Peter’s Picks

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 GARDENS by Monty Don. 'If I have learned only one thing from my travels around the world it is that no garden is an island. Context is everything.' Monty Don visits each continent in this landmark series on gardens of the world. We are introduced to the unique floating gardens of the Amazon and the colourful alpine flower meadows of Norway, modest domestic gardens in Havana and Bali, Monet's world-famous Giverny and the Dutch tour-de-force Het Loo, the formal magnificence of Renaissance Italian water gardens, the tropical planting traditions of Thailand, and the intriguing fusion of indigenous and colonial garden cultures in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Each garden is placed in context, horticultural preconceptions are abandoned and Monty is constantly surprised by the unexpected locations where gardens thrive. A vivid account of travel, adventure, beauty and the pursuit of knowledge. Hardback, 2008, 288 pages, 19.2cm x 25.1cm. $70.00.

 
ECO COLOUR: BOTANICAL DYES FOR BEAUTIFUL TEXTILES by India Flint. Eco Colour fills a gap in the literature and uses an exciting range of projects to demonstrate a variety of techniques, some of them entirely new processes developed by the author. Projects range from solar dyeing to dyeing with 'ice-flowers'. The result is a range of pure natural colours produced with the least possible harm.  Hardback, 2008, 240 pages, 22.5cm x 27cm.  $65.00.

FIGS DATES LAUREL AND MYRRH, PLANTS OF THE BIBLE AND THE QU'RAN by Lytton J Musselman. This book celebrates the plants of the Old Testament, New Testament, and Qu’ran. From acacia, the wood of the tabernacle, to wormwood, whose bitter leaves, as absinthe, flavour alcoholic drinks, 81 chapters cover the more than 100 plants in the holy texts that have true botanical counterparts. Fascinating stories of the fruits, grains, grasses, trees, flowers, and fragrances include botanical characteristics, habitat, uses, and literary context. Richly illustrated with extensive color, this delightful ecumenical botany offers the welcome tonic of a deep look into an enduring, shared natural heritage. 255 colour photos.  Hardback, 2007, 332 pages. 14cm x 20.5cm.  $50.00.

LOOKING FOR DARWIN by Lloyd Spencer Davis. In one of the most inhospitable places on Earth, zoologist Lloyd Spencer Davis comes face to face with an enraged leopard seal. Towering ice cliffs, a ferocious creature of the deep, and the extreme Antarctic environment all turn Davis's world view on its head. 'What the hell am I doing here?' This question sets Davis on a quest for insight and meaning in a world that still pitches theories of evolution against belief in a Creator; the science of natural selection against a faith that asserts our world was crafted by Intelligent Design. With a self-deprecating grin packed along with his cabin baggage - even when his passport isn't - Davis decides to follow the travels of the eminent nineteenth-century naturalist, Charles Darwin: the man who did more to change our understanding of this planet than any other biologist. Looking for Darwin gives us a personal and intimate insight into Darwin and what drove the man. It is also an attempt to resolve that initially panicked - and then far-reaching - question, that first hit Davis on the big ice. With a wealth of research and vivid imagery - along with a disarming honesty - Lloyd Spencer Davis takes the reader on an unforgettable world tour.  Paperback, 2007, 283 pages, 15.3cm x 23.4cm.  $40.00.

NEW SELF SUFFICIENT GARDENER.  COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO PLANNING, GROWING STORING AND PRESERVING YOUR OWN GARDEN PRODUCE by John Seymour. The complete illustrated guide to planning, growing, storing and preserving your own garden produce from 'the grand master of self-sufficiency' ("Kitchen Garden"), John Seymour John Seymour's classic guide gives you the knowledge and expertise to create your own self-sufficient garden and produce what you need. Whatever the size of your space, discover how to garden organically and maximise your harvest, without the need for radical changes to your lifestyle. From cultivating vegetables to making cider, keeping chickens to training vines, you'll garden in tune with the seasons, growing for the year, eating for today and storing for tomorrow. No specialist knowledge required: just clearly explained principles and practicalities ideal for any gardener.1st published in 1978.  Hardback, 2008, 256 pages, 22.2cm x 28.3cm.  $65.00.

PICK PRESERVE SERVE by Chris Fortune. How do you make the most of produce when at its abundant, seasonal best? And what do you do with a bumper crop from your own garden? What is the best way to capture those wonderful, naturally ripened flavours so you can savour them year-round? The answers lies in the age-old, tried-and-true art of preserving: Drying; Salting; Smoking; Pickling; Alcohol; Oils; Bottling; Sugar. This book briefly describes these methods and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each. Organised by season, the book lists when produce is at peak condition for preserving, and provides a diverse range of recipes for preserving many of them.  Paperback, 2008, 128 pages, 17.5cm x 24.5cm.  $30.00.

SHADE GARDEN. SHADE LOVING PLANTS FOR YEAR ROUND INTEREST by Beth Chatto. Legendary gardener Beth Chatto takes us on an intimate tour of her verdant English woodland garden, explaining how she transformed what was once a barren, derelict site into a lush maze of paths where attention-grabbing plants thrive all year long. Along the way, she offers a wealth of practical information and shows off more than 200 species designed by nature to flourish in dry shade. With an unrivalled knowledge of how to make things grow even in adverse conditions, plus an artist’s eye for color, form, and shape, Chatto helps anyone meet the challenge of turning inhospitable spaces into truly magnificent gardens. 160 colour photos.  Paperback, 2008, 224 pages, 18.9cm x 24.4cm.  $35.00.

DAVID DOUGLAS: EXPLORER & BOTANIST by Anne Lindsay Mitchell and Syd House.  David Douglas became a celebrated scientist and explorer.  He explored the area of western Canada, collecting and classifying its flora and recording the life of its Native American population, and was the first to record the fir named after him.  Hardback, 1999, 241 pages, 16cm x 24cm.  Special price $40.00, was $90.00.

A GARDEN GALLERY, PLANTS ART AND HARDSCAPE OF LEWIS AND LITTLE by George Lewis and David Little. Internationally celebrated artists and gardeners, George Little and David Lewis are long-time collaborators whose concrete sculptures and installations have been displayed in gardens around the world. In this long-awaited book, Little and Lewis open the gates to their renowned garden retreat and describe how any gardener can achieve this kind of excitement - water features, oversized and broadleaved plants, expansive use of colour, zone-pushing tropicals and architectural emphasis - in his or her backyard. From practical advice on how to make a slow-drip natural fountain, choose complementary colours or build an inexpensive Tuscan-style wall to conceptual discussions on laying out borders and making use of water, Little and Lewis offer inspiration and encourage gardeners to use imagination and take risks.  Hardback, 2005, 175 pages, 25cm x 26cm.  Special price $40.00, was $70.00.

NEW PLANTS FROM OLD by Jackie French. Why buy your garden when you can grow it at no cost? Why limit your creativity to your nursery's range when there's much more to choose from all around you? This title will tell you the secret of: striking cuttings; layering; grafting; budding; dividing; cross-pollinating; hybridising; seed collecting; and germinating.  Paperback, 2007, 116 pages, 15cm x 23cm.  Special price $18.00, was $22.00.

A NZ COUNTRY HARVEST COOKBOOK by Gilian Painter.  Delicious traditional and new recipes for jams, preserves, chutneys, pickles and baking.  Paperback, 1997, 87 pages, 18cm x 24cm.  Special price $20.00, was $30.00.

RAGE FOR ROCK GARDENING by Nicola Shulman.  The story of Reginald Farrer: gardener, writer and plant collector.  Shulman ‘tells the life of a dwarfish, rancorous, alcoholic, woman-hating plantsman, and contrives to make you love him.’   Hardback, 2004, 120 pages, 13cm x 20cm.  Special price $18.00, was $35.00.

TREES FOR NZ TOWN AND COUNTRY by Don C Bell.  A comprehensive guide for tree lovers.  Includes the role and benefits of trees, care, conservation, regeneration, shelter and shade, lists of trees for specific sites.  Hardback, 2001, 231 pages, 19,5cm x 26cm.  Special price $20.00, was $60.00.

A NEW ZEALAND GARDENERS’ GUIDE SERIES. Available to you at $12.00 per book (Normal RRP $30.00 each).

1.   Begonias by Mike Stevens.  2002 2.   Carnations and Pinks by Pamela McGeorge and Keith Hammett.  2002. 3.   Hibiscus by Jacqueline Walker.  1999. 4.   Irises by Pamela McGeorge and Alison Nicoll.  2001. 5.   Lilies by Pamela McGeorge.  2004. 6.   Magnolias by Rosemary Barrett.  2002. 7.   Maples by Rosemary Barrett.  2004.   8.   Orchids by I.D. James.  2001. 9.   Rhododendrons and Azaleas by Geoff Bryant.  2001. All 96 pages, paperback, 19cm x 25.2cm, except for “Hibiscus” which is 96 pages, hardback, 19.8cm x 25.8cm.  Buy any 10 books in this series and pay $10.00 each.