Garden designer Paul Bangay likely needs no introduction – widely respected, he is one of Australia’s most sought-after designers, and has worked across the country as well as overseas for over forty years. His latest book, A Life in Garden Design, is a unique and impressive tome, combining memoir writing and personal archive images with plenty of large format, full colour garden photography and drawings.
Within these pages, you’ll read candid reflections on Bangay’s childhood and studies, early forays into design work, international travel, and relationships with mentors and friends who have shaped his career. He also writes with detail and passion about the process of designing his own garden spaces in the homes he has lived and worked in – from small, rented, central-Melbourne apartments to the sprawling rural beauty of Stonefields.
A Life in Garden Design is much, much more than a memoir – it is also a lush celebration of gardens in many forms. Photos by long-time collaborator Simon Griffiths feature heavily, along with news and magazine clippings, detailed garden plans drawn by Bangay himself, and many photos of travel, garden inspirations, friends and family from his own collections. Read it once for the story of a fascinating and varied career in garden design, and then revisit it often for fresh perspectives for your own life and garden.
Many thanks to Scorpio Books for this review.
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