Best Botany of Flowers

And because of our extraordinary appetite for more unusual and beautiful “super flowers,” plant breeders have created such unnatural blooms as blue roses and black petunias to cater to the human world of haute couture fashion. Here, he integrates fascinating stories about the many colorful personalities who populate the world of flowers, and the flowers and pollinators themselves, with a research-based narrative that illuminates just why there is, indeed, a Reason for Flowers . They are miniature chemical factories, wireless signal stations,inspiration for artists, and—of course—sustenance for the most important creatures living on the planet. "Buchmann, a prolific and ardent pollination ecologist, peels back the petals to reveal fascinating aspects of floriculture....Intensely researched, well paced, intricately detailed, and delightfully accessible, Buchmann’s exploration of this trove of living sensory delights is a boon to both casual and committed flower lovers." "With a subtitle that serves as a swift, sweet summary, [Stephen Buchmann] compresses the cultural and natural history of flowers into a few hundred graceful pages...A volume that is like a Eurail Pass that will carry you through gorgeous terrain you will want to explore in more depth." "Buchmann, a biologist specializing in pollination ecology, uses his eighth book to enthuse about the importance that flowers have played in human civilization...his excitement is both palpable and contagious...fascinating...captivating." This world-renowned explorer of nature’s inner workings will delight you while unobtrusively edifying you at the same time.” (Gary Paul Nabhan, Kellogg Endowed Chair in Sustainable food Systems, University of Arizona ). In this attractive book, Steve Buchmann brings to life for the interested reader the many facets of their existence and their interplay with insects and other animals, informing us well about how they evolved and the roles that they play in our world.” (Peter H. Raven, President Emeritus, Missouri Botanical Garden ). How flowers influenced Gregor Mendel and Charles Darwin are discussed along with examples of collaborative floral studies I've conducted with other scientists over my career.

Determined to clone an endangered flower—the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii— a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.” — Los Angeles Times “Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.” — The Washington Post Book World “Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.” — Boston Sunday Globe “A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.” — The Wall Street Journal. As knowledge of the family Orchidaceae grew to encompass the currently more than 60,000 species and over 100,000 hybrids, orchidelirium might have been expected to go the way of Dutch tulip mania. The Orchid Thief centers on south Florida and John Laroche, a quixotic, charismatic schemer once convicted of attempting to take endangered orchids from the Fakahatchee swamp, a state preserve. Filled with Palm Beach socialites, Native Americans, English peers, smugglers, and naturalists as improbably colorful as the tropical blossoms that inspire them, this is a lyrical, funny, addictively entertaining read. Perfect for anyone who wants to know a little bit about a lot of things, this quirky, quintessential New Yorker story pulls back the curtain on a community of people who are driven by a passion to collect and cultivate some very exotic plants.

The Lavender Lover's Handbook provides a complete checklist of the color, fragrance, size, and foliage of the 100 easiest, most stunning lavenders available today. One of the most distinctive and beloved fragrances in the world, lavender has justifiably earned its multitude of devotees, thanks to its soothing and delicate aroma, varied culinary and healing properties, and rewarding landscape versatility. A bit tricky, a tad temperamental, yes, but for those who are willing to do a little advance planning and provide a smidgen of TLC, lavender will reward the observant gardener with enough sensory benefits to make it all worthwhile.

You've probably already considered container gardening - but what about vertical gardening with vining plants that can grow up the wall or using a vertical aeroponics gardening system that can grow 20+ plants in a 4 square foot area? Also included is a list of the 15 best indoor plants for cleaning, purifying and removing toxins from polluted city air. Even in the heart of Manhattan you can breath fresh, pure air thanks to these incredible plants that have been studied by NASA and proven to remove pollutants like benzene, formaldehyde and Volatice Orcanic Compounds (VOCs). In the past, aeroponics and hydroponics systems were only available to the wealthy and those with extensive knowledge of agriculture and hydroponics. Want To Grow An Urban Garden In Your Community? Will Cook is the international bestselling author of Urban Gardening, Indoor Gardening and Container Gardening.

In The Hidden Life of Trees , Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware. "The matter-of-fact Mr. Wohlleben has delighted readers and talk-show audiences alike with the news — long known to biologists — that trees in the forest are social beings." — Sally McGrane, The New York Times “This fascinating book will intrigue readers who love a walk through the woods”— Publishers Weekly. "Soon after we begin to recognize trees for what they are — gigantic beings thriving against incredible odds for hundreds of years — we naturally come to ask, 'How do they do it?'. "Wohlleben’s book is at once romantic and scientific, beautifully articulating his personal relationship with the trees he has dedicated his life to. "With colorful and engaging descriptions of little-known phenomena in our natural world, Wohlleben helps readers appreciate the exciting processes at work in the forests around them." Peter Wohlleben spent over twenty years working for the forestry commission in Germany before leaving to put his ideas of ecology into practice.

Very often, weeds are the results of weakened turf and specific spoil problemsthe Color Atlas of Turfgrass Weeds explains why, and helps you problem-solve for effective management. One of most undesirable characteristics of weed infestation is the disruption of turf uniformity—so vital to the golf, sports field, and managed landscape industry. Weed clumps, color variation, and patches can drive turf managers crazy, and have a pronounced effect on the perceived quality of the maintenance program. Fred Yelverton , is an Associate Professor of Crop Science at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium’s digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycoforestry and myco-gardening). --From the foreword by Andrew Weil, MD, author of Eating Well for Optimum Health “Stamets is a visionary emissary from the fungus kingdom to our world, and the message he’s brought back in this book, about the possibilities fungi hold for healing the environment, will fill you with wonder and hope.“. --Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire “This is the kind of book I love: highly factual and practical and mixed with the spiritual content that sets the great writers apart from all the rest.“. --John Norris, former deputy commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and founder of the Bioterrorism Institute. “This is the first book to give the Kingdom of the Fungi its proper place in the scheme of things. Stamets’s visionary insights are leading to a whole new understanding of how mushrooms, scarcely seen and rarely appreciated, regulate the earth’s ecosystems.“. --John Todd, founder and president of Ocean Arks International. “This visionary and practical book should be an instant classic in... A manual for healing the earth and creating sustainable forests through mushroom cultivation, featuring mycelial solutions to water pollution, toxic spills, and other ecological challenges.

Succulents are hot. "In her new book, Succulents Simplified:Growing, Designing, and Crafting with 100 Easy-Care Varieties , Baldwin even tells of a Jade plant that has lasted for more than two decades in her garden with various stages of neglect! "Anyone who knows Debra Lee Baldwin is aware of her extraordinary prowess as an author, writer, photographer, and artist...her book, Succulents Simplified , is a work of art." From quick and easy succulent rosettes for bouquets, to teeny tiny mint-tin gardens, to succulent-topped pumpkins there's a project in this book for even the most craft-challenged." "Debra is nothing if not passionate about succulents...In S ucculents Simplified (Timber Press) she demystifies these popular low-water beauties." When we returned home, my mother described the house to my father: "Big picture windows, but imagine having to clean them. Others were necklaces of blue-gray buttons, rubbery silver-blue roses, and sticks of green chalk with windowed tips. It became something I longed for, along with a saltwater aquarium, a hot air balloon, and an unlimited supply of chocolate marshmallows. In slanted early morning or late afternoon sun, red margins burn neon bright, spines incandesce, fuzzy filaments shimmer, and leaves reveal glowing hues of rose, orange, purple, and blue. It's a guide for novice enthusiasts, a quick reference for anyone seeking an overview, and a vehicle for presenting design ideas I'm excited about.