Costa Georgiadis (text) and Brenna Quinlan (illustrator), Costa’s Garden: Flowers, HarperCollins Publishers, December 2024, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780733343360
The well-known presenter of the ABC’s gardening program, here masquerading as Costa the Garden Gnome, has produced a comprehensive guide to understanding flowers. Every imaginable topic is covered from how they attract insects, birds and animals such as bats and possums, to the best conditions to ensure that they flourish. In addition, there are references to the way that First Nations people manage their Country, the flowers associated with particular overseas countries, which flowers appear in certain seasons, and the importance of garden shows and clubs.
The very colourful illustrations are both fun and instructive, for example, clearly showing the different parts of flowers. Costa’s passionate belief that flowers are like medicine for our heart and soul illuminates every page.
Let’s hope, as the subtitle suggests, that there will soon be books on vegetables and trees. Ages 4-10.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Douglas
