Frances Lincoln

For over twenty years, Vladimir Sitta has provoked and inspired landscape architects, garden designers and garden owners. At once poetic and technologically creative - and in both, fearlessly so - his design work constantly challenges established norms. The elemental forces of nature, earth, fire, water and gravity are vividly revealed through his artistry and the sensory, intellectual and imaginative responses that such artistry demands. This book showcases some of Vladimir Sitta's most distinctive gardens and provides the first comprehensive review of his work and his unique contribution to garden design. While he has an international reputation and practice, it is through his Australian garden designs that his distinctive voice is most clearly heard, and most of the gardens shown here - including the Red Garden, the Garden of Fire, the Sky Pool Garden and the astonishing Garangula - have been made in Australia. In the prologue leading critic Julian Raxworthy considers in depth the elements and allusions apparent in Sitta's garden designs - and in the fluent and flowing drawings Sitta refers to as 'doodles' or 'fragments', which have provided the starting point for many of the gardens. In this revealing and magnificently illustrated book, Vladimir Sitta emerges as perhaps the most inventive, disturbing and memorable garden designer of our times.

Founded in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery, London, holds the most extensive collection of portraits in the world. 100 Writers and Artists from the National Portrait Gallery brings together a huge range of cultural icons - from William Shakespeare to J.K. Rowling and J.M.W. Turner to David Hockney. 100 postcards of authors, poets, painters, sculptors and photographers, in colour and black and white and a wide variety of styles and media, to keep, frame or send, packed in a sturdy keepsake box. Portraits include Agatha Christie, Byron, Charles Dickens, Daphne Du Maurier, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, DH Lawrence, EM Forster, Frances Bacon, George Bernard Shaw, Gwen John, Virginia Woolf, Henry James, Henry Moore, Ian Fleming, Iris Murdoch, James A M Whistler, J M Barrie, James Joyce, Joan Miro, John Constable, Joseph Conrad, Katherine Mansfield, Kazuo Ishiguro, Keats, Laurie Lee, Lewis Carroll, Lucian Freud, Lucien Pisarro, Man Ray, Nancy Mitford, Noel Coward, Oscar Wilde, R L Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Rex Whistler, Samuel Beckett, Seamus Heaney, T S Elliott, Vanessa Bell, Vita Sackville West and William Wordsworth. As well as many self portraits, there are portraits by Cecil Beaton, Vanessa Bell, Ida Kar, Peter Edwards, Camille Pisarro, Duncan Grant, John Gay, Richard Doyle, Howard Coster, Clemence Dane, Godfrey Argent, John Singer Sargent and Augustus John.

The austere, enigmatic rock gardens of Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, have never ceased to fascinate garden lovers. Weather-beaten rocks set in an expanse of white sand raked into geometric patterns challenge the idea of a garden as a space chiefly dedicated to the cultivation and appreciation of plants. How did the taste for this kind of garden arise? What do the stones represent? Why aren't there more flowers? This book sets out to answer questions such as these. It explores the Zen characteristics of these gardens, and discusses the impact Zen Buddhism has had on the Japanese way of looking at the natural world. The book considers how these gardens can be seen as artistic representations of Zen consciousness, reflecting the longing for religious enlightenment. This book also shows how key traditional concepts, such as that of using the confined space of a garden to create a landscape in miniature, were reinterpreted in Zen temple gardens. It explores how they make use of traditional imagery, such as those of mountain and sea, and how they reflect that acute sensitivity to the passage of time and the changing of the seasons which characterizes so many other Japanese garden styles. Richly illustrated with newly commissioned photography by Alex Ramsay, this book covers important examples of Japanese Zen temple gardens from the fourteenth century through to the twentieth century. It appeals to readers who are interested in gardens, garden design and garden history, as well as in Zen Buddhism and Zen aesthetics. It also serves as a useful reference book for travellers planning a trip to Japan to visit the country's temples.

Here are 115 recipes for the curious omnivore from a new generation of French chefs. This stylish and accessible take on the next big trend in food includes soups, salads, juices, seafood, raw and seared meat, and deserts. 'Raw Talent' features throughout the book focus on some of the most exciting raw food chefs and restaurants in Paris. The benefits of eating less processed food are increasingly recognised, and raw food diet books have a dedicated following. Raw Food French Style book has a non-fanatical approach, with the emphasis on flavour. Recipes include: Raw Beetroot, Nut and Grapefruit salad; Passionfruit and Coconut Tuna fillet; Veal Tartar tartare with Oysters and Seaweed; Sesame and Clemantine sauce; Pineapple, Sage and Ginger sorbet.

In 2001, Quentin Blake - the first Children's Laureate - chose twenty-six of his favourite paintings for an exhibition at the National Gallery. Very different artworks were chosen, some by fine artists and some by children's illustrators, but they all had one thing in common: a story to tell. The accompanying book urges children to use their imaginations and look for the stories in the pictures. Reissued with a new introduction from the author, Tell Me A Picture will show a new generation the adventures that await in looking at art.

This book presents the best garden designs of the last ten years from more than 50 top garden designers. It offers design solutions for every situation, every area, all tastes and budgets, and any size of garden. It draws on the talents of celebrated designers such as Tom Stuart Smith, Luciano Giubbilei, Charlotte Rowe, Ian Kitson, John Brookes, Cleve West, Dan Pearson and Andy Sturgeon. It also showcases the work of lesser-known designers whose innovating designs deserve wider recognition. The process of garden design requires many thousands of small decisions in the pursuit of the most appealing solutions for outdoor spaces. But this book makes the complex process simpler by offering ample choices of contemporary design for you to explore what's possible, what's practical and what's affordable. Comprising garden rooms, ornamental details, styles and planting ideas, this book will appeal to every garden owner, whether they manage a small or medium sized garden, a roof terrace, balcony or courtyard space. It offers cutting edge solutions for those seeking an entirely new look as well as key details that can make all the difference.

Who does this footprint belong to? What is this worm up to? What is the name of this tree? Even if we live in the city, nature is still all around us: clouds and stars, trees and flowers, rocks and beaches, birds, reptiles or mammals. What are we waiting for? Let's jump off the couch and begin exploring! Created in collaboration with a team of Portuguese experts, this book, which won the coveted Bologna Regazzi award, aims to arouse your curiosity about fauna, flora and other aspects of the natural world. It includes suggestions for activities and many illustrations to help the whole family get started, leave the house, and go out to discover - or simply admire - the amazing world that exists outdoors.

This is a book to make your own. Embrace your style and use pattern, colour and shape to reflect your personal taste. Become the designer of your world as you create inspired ideas of your own. Collage, design and play, cut, paste and create. Cut, Paste, Create is a visual journal where the reader is encouraged to fill the pages with design ideas using collage and to explore and reflect on their own creative concepts and personal taste. Whilst some pages seek a more personal engagement, for example relating to moods or feelings, others simply provide a space to ' design a range of coats for your dog' or ' create a welcome mat' to invite people in to your home. Including helpful tips and basic principles of collage, the reader is guided to source materials from their everyday world and to look for what is beautiful, inspiring or unusual to them. * If you could change your hairstyle every day, what would it look like? * Collage designs for your own fashion collection * Create your own wallpaper * Design your own bookends * Collage some cheery umbrella designs for when you' re under the weather * Create your own set of stamps * Design a range of eyewear to suit your mood.

Small gardens are a challenge to design and to keep looking good. This title aims to inspire and inform gardeners to make the most of their small spaces by looking at more than 50 contemporary and inspirational gardens, at how their designers have created them and how their owners use and develop them. In this serious review of the perennial subject, Noel explains the theory and practice of planting a small garden, he advocates on the use of containers, revitalises growing your own, and explains design tricks, storage solutions and vertical planting to help small garden owners maximise their small spaces. And lack of space should not limit ambition for embracing sustainability, the use of recycled materials and the scope for bio-diversity as well as providing habitats for wildlife. All the gardens featured have been photographed in the last two years. Special photography is by Dutch garden photographer and former fashion stylist Maayke de Ridder whose design rigour perfectly complements the author's gardening expertise.

Hop on board the space shuttle and get ready for the ride of your life as you explore deep space with your five fellow space cadets. This journey of discovery takes you through our local solar system and beyond, to galaxies far and wide. With every encounter, learn more about the science behind the stars, planets, meteors and comets in our sky, and the history of our universe.

From the team behind the best-selling Atlas of Adventures. Head off on a journey of discovery, with this book that collects together nature's most unmissable events from between the two poles, including epic migrations, extraordinary behaviours, and Herculean habits. Find hundreds of things to spot and learn new facts about every animal

Explore ten of the world's most diverse environments and reveal their hidden secrets with a magic, three-coloured lens that illuminates each page in a kaleidoscope of colour. Discover the dark and mysterious creatures of the night, whose super-sensory powers allow them to live and survive in the shadows, then switch the lens to step into daylight, where the heat of the sun supercharges the secret lives of creatures big and small. Finally, use the third lens to reveal the luscious plant life of every habitat as you travel through a jungle, a reef, grasslands, woodland and uncover a world that never sleeps with Milan-based design-duo, Carnovsky.

Join one little pigeon on her mission to spread the word of peace around the world. Set to the lyrics the iconic song Imagine, this book brings John Lennon's enduring message of peace and tolerance to a new generation. A royalty from every copy sold will go to charity Amnesty International.

Turtles are amazing creatures! They go on incredible journeys, have beautiful shells, can hold their breath for hours and even cry salty tears. You can show you love them by not dropping litter on the beach and NEVER buying anything made of tortoiseshell. Discover ten reasons why turtles are amazing and five ways you can show they love them in this gorgeous picture book written by non-fiction expert Catherine Barr - a must for any young animal enthusiast and a fantastic introduction to environmental issues.

Following on from the hugely successful Polytunnel Book, Joyce and Ben Russell have devised 30 kitchen garden projects that anyone can make and enjoy. Not only do the projects add decorative detail to the garden, each project is devised to either extend the season, protect crops from pests or improve yields. Apart from the obvious cost-savings benefits from growing or making your own, the desire to work with craft fulfils the need to keep improving your patch of land. These compelling projects transform your vegetable plot into somewhere more productive, more attractive and more secure. From simple projects for cloches, tunnels and frames to design solutions that deter slugs and carrot root fly, these projects are well-designed as well as decorative. Each project includes step-by-step instructions as well as a list of materials and tools you'll need and a relative skills rating. Accompanying each project are growing tips and specific crop advice to help you make the most of your crop. To be enjoyed by gardeners of all levels and anyone who loves growing their own. Projects include: Leaf mould container; simple cloche; fruit cage; bean support; herb bed; folding bean frame; raised bed; poly cloche; plant propagator; boot scraper; mini greenhouse; drying cabinet; carrot fly protector; compost bins.

"Wonderfully versatile and tasty recipes you can choose to cook with or without meat or fish, to suit your companions, mood and budget." Peter Gordon "As the owner of a veggie restaurant for the last 27 years I've seen fads and trends come and go. Jo's book tackles every possibility in a fun, informed and tasty way. Wish I'd written it." Simon Rimmer Whether you're an occasional meat-eater, a vegetarian who needs to cook for meat-eaters, or even a dedicated veggie, you'll find something for you in this book filled with delicious and practical flexitarian recipes for every lifestyle from celebrated chef Jo Pratt. Choose between cooking each recipe as a completely vegetarian dish, or select to add one of the simple meat, chicken or fish additions, making them suitable for meat-free days and meat-eaters alike. From spiced poke to peashoot and asparagus gnudi, the range of international recipes spans the globe and are all quick, simple, well-balanced and packed with protein. As well as easy meat and fish additions and hacks for each vegetarian recipe, this original cookbook shows you how to ace a handful of classic recipes, from the perfect roast chicken, to the perfectly cooked fish fillet. For both health, eco and sustainability reasons, there has never been a better time to join the growing flexitarianism movement and expand your culinary skills.