The Uncommon Garden
Australian Flora Natural History Botanical Art Environmental Conservation Gardening & Horticulture Vintage Australiana Women Artists Eco-Art
First-edition hardcover of Joan Law-Smith’s 1983 Australian classic, “The Uncommon Garden,” is a scarce 128-page picture book that pairs botanically accurate paintings with lyrical naturalist essays. Issued by the Women’s Committee of the National Trust Australia and never reprinted, this vintage volume showcases Law-Smith’s luminous water-colours of native and exotic flora—banksia, kangaroo-paw, climbing roses—making it equal parts field guide and art folio. Collectors prize the 1983 print run for its thick art-stock pages and the rich, pre-digital colour separation that later paperbacks never matched.
Beyond beauty, the book is a time-capsule of Australian garden history: Law-Smith documents now-endangered cultivars, pre-1990s organic practices, and the Trust’s early conservation campaigns. Young adults discover how science meets art, while adult gardeners, botanists, and designers use the labelled botanical plates for colour-scheme inspiration and species identification. The green cloth boards and illustrated dust-jacket look striking on a shelf or coffee table, instantly sparking conversation about sustainable horticulture and native plant revival.
This copy retains its original dust-jacket and tight, square binding; pages are crisp, bright, and free of foxing—only light edge-wear and a sun-faded spine keep it affordable compared with the rare fine copies now commanding triple-digit prices. For collectors of Australiana, women artists, or environmental literature, owning a clean first edition ensures both reading pleasure and long-term appreciation as Law-Smith’s work gains recognition in eco-art circles.
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