Botanical Reads for Spring
By Stephanie Strong - May 12th, 2017
The last traces of winter are finally behind us, and SPS is in full bloom! This month, you can grow your garden of knowledge through these plant-centered reads.
A comprehensive and visually appealing botanical compendium:
Plant: Exploring the Botanical World
Phaidon Press Editors
Phaidon Press 2016
704.9 C55P (shelved with the dictionaries on the main floor)
“Following in the footsteps of the international bestseller Map: Exploring the World, this fresh and visually stunning survey celebrates the extraordinary beauty and diversity of plants. It combines photographs and cutting-edge micrograph scans with watercolours, drawings, and prints to bring this universally popular and captivating subject vividly to life. Carefully selected by an international panel of experts and arranged in a uniquely structured sequence to highlight thought-provoking contrasts and similarities, this stunning compilation of botanically themed images includes iconic work by celebrated artists, photographers, scientists, and botanical illustrators, as well as rare and previously unpublished images.” (Amazon Description)
A practical guide to the plants around us:
Wildflowers of New England
Ted Elliman and the New England Wildflower Society
Timber Press 2016
582 EL5W
“Wildflowers of New England is for hikers, naturalists, gardeners, and anyone wishing to learn more about the region’s diverse wildflowers, or just wanting to know the answer to “What’s that plant?” Ted Elliman, a plant ecologist for the New England Wild Flower Society, describes and illustrates more than 1,000 species commonly found in all six New England states, including annuals, perennials, and biennials, both native and naturalized. This helpful field guide uses a logical and convenient identification key based on flower color, petal arrangement, and leaf characteristics. One thousand color photographs help to confirm that you’ve got the right plant. The introduction includes an explanation of plant parts and information on plant names.” (Amazon Description)
A look at gardens as literary inspiration:
The Writer’s Garden
Jackie Bennett
Frances Lincoln 2016
820.9 B43W
“Great things happen in gardens. No one can doubt the importance of the garden in Roald Dahl’s life as it was here where he worked, and here that he created James and the Giant Peach. And where would Jane Austen have been if she had never seen a ‘walk’, an ornamental lake, or a wilderness?
Gardens hold a special place in many author’s lives. For Beatrix Potter, Hill Top house was made possible by the new found freedom and wealth that a literary career can bring; for Sir Walter Scott, laying out his garden at Abbotsford was a way of distracting himself from mounting debts.
In this book of 18 gardens and 20 writers, the author examines how the poet, writer, novelist derived a creative spirit from their private garden, how they tended and enjoyed their gardens, and how they managed their outdoor space.” (Amazon Description)
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The Encyclopedia of Herbs: A Comprehensive Reference to Herbs of Flavor and Fragrance by Arthur O. Tucker and Thomas Debaggio, Timber Press, 2010.
