Fairer Side of Buxton - Clare Glesson

Alfred Buxton was the father of landscape design in New Zealand.  Working in the early twentieth century, he was one of the first in the country to create expansive and sophisticated gardens that transformed people's properties and way of life.

His rural gardens became creative outlets for the wives of the farmers who commissioned them, recreational spaces for their families and meeting places for the community.

Independent women commissioned Buxton gardens for their own enjoyment and for the schools they worked for, while mothers and wives raised funds for gardens to enhance the memorials being built to remember those lost in the Great War.

Clare Gleeson tells an intriguing story of a man who played an important role in developing Aotearoa's horticultural landscape, through the lens of the 'fairer sex' who supported and took pleasure in his work.

With a foreword by Julian Matthews.

Clare Gleeson’s in-depth descriptions of the Buxton gardens and how they came to be will fascinate all those who love plants, while those with a feeling for New Zealand history will find this to be an intriguing picture of our past from a different perspective. Julian Matthews

Clare Gleeson’s meticulously researched and beautifully illustrated book on Alfred Buxton and the women who commissioned him to design their gardens is a long overdue tribute to this extraordinary man. It is sure to have a wide appeal to gardeners, garden designers and lovers of social and rural history. Bee Dawson, A History of Gardening in New Zealand

 

Hardback