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From traditional English roses to bursts of tropical plants and back, New Zealand gardens have done a complete circle over the past 110 years.
And right throughout the Yates Garden Guide has offered hints and tips to over a million keen gardeners.
The 77th edition of the book, which first hit shelves in 1895, was released last week.
"It's one of the best practical guides to gardening," Denise Cleverley, editorial assistant of the New Zealand version, said.
New Zealand gardens once reflected their colonial ties because "people wanted to remember home", Cleverley said.
Gardeners then started to venture out by planting more "Pacific plants", but over the past 10 years the new styles have been infused with the old. "We've almost gone in a complete circle." Cleverley, who found a passion for gardening watching her father tend to vegetables as a child, wants to see more people mucking in and getting their hands dirty.
"People don't appreciate gardening enough. It's very rewarding."
The 47-year-old who grows vegetables, fruit trees, tropical, natives and grasses, "a real mixture", in her small Ponsonby property, said even city-dwellers who don't have big backyards can sprout gardens. "Get a little trough and grow spring onions or herbs - it's really easy and will spark your interest."
Concerns over carbon emissions have seen more vegetables grown from home, which is a reflection of what was being grown in New Zealand gardens during the depression, she said.
New sections on organic gardening, courtyard gardens and labour saving tips are included for the first time in the latest edition, to reflect today's Kiwi gardens.
Hints from New Zealand gardeners Linda Hallinan, Jack Hobbs and Mary Robertson are also included.
The Yates Garden Guide was founded in New Zealand by Arthur Yates, who saw a need for a publication that answered gardeners' questions and related specifically to local conditions and climate.
Be in to win
The Weekend Herald has 10 copies of the Yates Garden Guide to give away. To enter put your name and address on the back of a stamped envelope and send to: Yates Giveaway, NZ Herald, PO Box 3290, Auckland. Entries close October 12.
