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In this book, written with grace and playfulness, wit, erudition and occasional introspection, Michael Pembroke has collected a cornucopia of information on certain trees, drawn from history, literature, poetry, mythology, botany and folklore. His subjects are the deciduous trees and conifers thriving in the cool-climate, basalt soil and altitude of Mount Wilson, a nineteenth-century hill station in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. The trees that have excited his imagination, and provided a rich store for his literary abilities, are those that have shaped history, influenced western civilisation and inspired lovers.

This book is, however, no encyclopaedia. Woven throughout is a personal memoir reflecting the unfolding of a deep felt connection with the land and nature – as an accidental gardener, an amateur naturalist and an occasional romantic.