One January morning in 1734, cloth merchant Peter Collinson hurried down to the docks at London's Custom House to collect cargo just arrived from John Bartram in the American colonies. But it was not bales of cotton that awaited him, but plants and seeds. Over the next forty years, Bartram would send hundreds of American species to England, where Collinson was one of a handful of men who would foster a national obsession and change the gardens of Britain forever: Philip Miller, author of the bestselling Gardeners Dictionary; the Swede Carl Linnaeus, whose standardised botanical nomenclature popularised botany; the botanist-adventurer Joseph Banks and his colleague Daniel Solander who both explored the strange flora of Tahiti and Australia on Captain Cook's Endeavour. This is the story of these men - friends, rivals, enemies, united by a passion for plants. Set against the backdrop of the emerging empire and the uncharted world beyond, The Brother Gardeners tells the story how Britain became a nation of gardeners.

Keep track of all of those recipe clippings that you’ve collected from magazines and newspapers, and the favourite family dishes that have been handed down to you. The new Kitchen Journal from Murdoch Books will stop these cluttering up your kitchen drawer and make them easy to find when you need them. This colourful, practical journal offers plenty of space to store recipe clippings and to jot down new recipes and cooking ideas.

In Serendip, Peter Kuruvita, acclaimed chef from Flying Fish in Sydney, takes us on a rich and rewarding journey through the traditional cuisine of Sri Lanka, its culture of family and ceremony, and the colourful approach to life on this beautiful island nation. Offering Sri Lankan curries of every kind as well as traditional snacks, breads, sticky sweet treats, and recipes for curry powders, chutneys, sambals and pickles, Serendip is a treasury of delicious and flavoursome dishes.

Tired of cookbooks with a mess of complicated instructions, exotic ingredients, and completely unachievable photographs of food that only a chef could prepare? Then The Basics is for you - hundreds of easy to follow recipes with simple ingredients for fast everyday meals. Includes rescue remedies for when things go wrong, substitute ingredients for those times when the cupboard is bare, and handy explanations of all those obscure or tricky cookbook terms that other cookbooks assume you understand. With recipes ranging from roast chicken to lasagne and baked cheesecake, The Basics is a cookbook for everyone from the beginner just leaving home to the more confident cook who wants daily inspiration and a great collection of delicious everyday recipes.

A lavishly illustrated and deeply personal story of the creation of an idiosyncratic Australian country garden, Velvet Pears is an inspirational book that is also full of practical ideas. Author Susan Southam created the amazing garden at Foxglove Spires on the land of an old dairy paddock. Susan generously shares her life’s lessons in this beautiful gift book. Velvet Pears captures the essence of living simply and with the seasons, within a local community, with a sustainable lifestyle.

The Country Table celebrates an approach to cooking - and a way of eating - that revolves around generosity, fresh produce and a respect for meal times. In 200 stunning pages, The Country Table brings together beautiful country images and time-honoured recipes that pay homage to simple traditions like a Sunday family lunch and home-baked treats for afternoon tea.

Fran Warde introduces 12 chefs at the forefront of France s bistro revolution. The chefs herald from every region of France, and for each of them Fran outlines their approach to French country cooking and introduces four of their recipes. In addition she includes more than 50 of her own recipes, inspired by bistros and eateries from all over France. This is accessible and affordable food such as steak frites, pot au feu, cassoulet and Basque fish stew. As well as the bistros profiled, Fran recommends the best of the runners-up in a section at the back of the book entitled The Best of the Rest.

Every year, renowned grower Amy Goldman produces an amazing 600 varieties of tomatoes on her estate in New York's Hudson Valley. Here, in 56 delicious recipes, 200 gorgeous photos, and Goldman's erudite, charming prose, is the cream of the crop.From glorious heirloom beefsteaks - that delicious tomato you had as a kid but can't seem to find anymore - to exotica like the ground tomato (a tiny green fruit that tastes like pineapple and grows in a tomatillo-like husk), Homegrown Tomatoes is filled with gorgeous shots of tomatoes so luscious they verge on the erotic. Along with the recipes and photos are profiles of the tomatoes, filled with surprisingly fascinating facts on their history and provenance, and a master gardener's guide to growing your own. More than just a loving look at one of the world's great edibles, this is a philosophy of eating and conservation between covers - an irresistible book for anyone who loves to cook or to garden.

My Cousin Rosa captures the atmosphere, experiences and recipes of Rosa Mitchell’s Sicilian kitchen. Rosa’s food is very special: soulful, traditional, family-orientated and utterly authentic. In this beautiful book, her thoughts on life, both Australian and Sicilian, are scattered among the recipes like biscotti crumbs. The recipes are complemented by stunning photography of both finished dishes and from throughout the preparation process, be that the making of salami the traditional way or the preparation of fresh cannelloni.

This is a timeless and comprehensive collection of essential recipes that will save you trawling through lots of cookbooks to find a particular recipe. This essential resource contains over 1,000 recipes, cooking tips and techniques and will become the most trusted and used reference book in your kitchen. Each recipe is The Cook’s Book of Everything has been triple tested in the Murdoch Books Test Kitchen for guaranteed results.

In Plants for Australian Dry Gardens, horticulturist Marcelle Nankervis presents a plant directory of surprising depth and variety. Over 600 species, both indigenous and exotic, are featured, and information on each plant’s cultivation requirements, growth habits and preferred aspect provides all the detail you need to choose the water-efficient plants best suited to your climate and garden style.

Chocolate is, quite simply, one of life’s greatest pleasures. Kitchen Classics: Chocolate is a collection of mouth-watering recipes celebrating chocolate in all its glory. Whether you want to make a decadent chocolate cake, a delicious slice or a spectacular dessert, Kitchen Classics: Chocolate will have the chocolate recipes you desire. This book will delight both the beginner and expert alike.

From the forefront of European foodie fashion arrives the Verrine. Visually spectacular, individual glass vessels are cleverly layered in savoury or sweet combinations to offer a unique balance of flavours and textures in a single mouthful. There are more than 60 recipes in Verrines for colourful concoctions that are variously crunchy, creamy, sweet, spicy, chocolaty and fruity.

The Thai Table: A Celebration of Culinary Treasures is a collection of recipes that range from the authentic and traditional, to vibrant, modern interpretations of this alluring and fascinating cuisine. With contributions from 20 master chefs in the cuisine, including notable culinary personalities such as Ken Hom, David Thompson, Neil Perry and chefs from the Blue Elephant Cookery School and the Regent Hotel and Spa Cookery School, this compendium of 120 modern and traditional Thai recipes is a collectible volume. Lavishly designed and photographed, it is a permanent keepsake for every foodie, amateur cook and professional chef.

The Really Useful Cookbook includes David Herbert's definitive, tried-and-trusted recpies for these - plus more than 200 other recipes, all arranged in easy-to-find sections such as Chocolate, Crumbles, Meatballs, Salads and Soups. True to its name, The Really Useful Cookbook contains a useful and versatile repertoire of great, simple, modern dishes. David's 'really useful' ideas and tips will help you transform these dishes into something uniquely your own, and give you the confidence to take real pleasure in preparing food for yourself, friends and family. 'Suddenly, in a complex world, there is David Herbert calming the way. His culinary guidelines are unfailingly successful. In fact, my dinner parties invariably end up with the request: 'Can we have the recipe, please?'' - Helga, Queensland