He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand Flowers by Philip Garnock-Jones
- NZ Booklovers
- Oct 16
- 1 min read
The extraordinary photography and text in this stunning coffee table book showcase 100 of Aotearoa’s most beautiful flowers. From kōwhai, manuka and pōhutukawa to other varieties you may not have heard of before, this book is a must-have for gardeners, foragers and anyone interested in our natural beauty. The book includes a viewer to see the flowers in spectacular 3D.
It is clear that Philip Garnock-Jones has a great love of botany, and he captures the minute beauty of these individual flowers so you can truly marvel at these wonderful creations. It’s impossible to choose favourites, but I was particularly captivated by:
Rangiora, apparently, is a common forest shrub, known as bushman’s friend, but there is nothing common about these attractive small white flowers.
Tarangahape, gorgeous purple and white flowers! And it turns out that our native bees love them.
Karaka are most commonly found in Northland and Auckland, and their yellow flowers are a delight.
Willowherb is a spectacular, gorgeous purple flower, and part of a large plant group distributed worldwide to places with cool temperate regions and alpines in the tropics.
New Zealand Slipper Flower – they are white with gorgeous purple spots on the inside!
And of course, you can’t go past the glorious pōhutukawa that delightfully flowers around Christmas in Aotearoa.
He Puāwai: A Natural History of New Zealand is stunning!
Reviewer: Karen McMillan
Auckland University Press
