A Contemplation upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature

By Bobby J. Ward

Book Overview

This is a perfect bedside book for the literate gardener and makes a terrific gardener's gift book. It is an entertaining survey of 80 plant genera, with a multitude of references to, and extracts from, myth and literature from Shakespeare to the Victorian language of flowers. Based on prodigious research, it includes much literature that has fallen into undeserved obscurity, as well as selections from the great poets. It is a delightful study of the influence of the world's flora on humanity, from the mundane to the mystical.

This book is only available through print on demand. All interior art is black and white.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0881927279
• ISBN13: 9780881927276
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Timber Press (OR)
• Length: 447 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

plant/flower lore

Packed with a rich amount of myths, facts, history, & lore. Both scientific & mystical.If you love this sort of thing, you will not be disappointed here. So much amusing fact & fancy about each flower & plant, whether it's uses in health & cures, or said to give courage. uses in perfume, flavoring food. Legends of fairy queens, herbalists, monks, American Indians are only some of this great folk lore. the author is not stingy with information, he gives a goodly amount in a cheerfull manner with tenderness & respect for our flowers. I enjoy it immensly & will keep it around for future reference.

A dipping book

A Contemplation upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature. Bobby Ward. Timber Press. 1999.In his introduction Bobby Ward, botanist and environmental scientist asserts that writers have contemplated upon flowers since the beginning of written history, and his well-researched book proves his point.This book neatly manages to balance science and art, keeping in mind both botanical accuracy and the poetic licence taken by some of the more fanciful Victorian poets. Mr Ward has researched some 82 varieties of flowers and arranged them alphabetically by their common name. You can read it in sequence if you like an orderly approach. I found myself picking out my favourite plants and discovering their ancient history as well as the way in which poets and playwrights had portrayed them. You'll always find treasures:- the name `lilac' comes from Persian and Arabic words describing its color. Its Latin name `syringa' comes from a Greek word meaning `pipe' and refers to its hollow stem. Our word `syringe' comes from the same root.- an ancient legend says that peonies were only to be picked at night. The woodpecker guarding them would attack the eyes of anyone picking them during the day.This is that rare treat, a "dipping book". You pick out the parts that grab your interest immediately, then keep it beside your armchair to dip into as time goes on. If you enjoy discovering more about the lore and literature of the plants in your garden you'll find "A Contemplation upon Flowers" a treasure to be added to your bookshelf.

Rare book that explains each flower?s role in the history

There are many books that tell gardeners the growing conditions and requirements of different flowers. However, rare is the book that explains each flower's role in the world's history and literature, as well as their medicinal uses and, the roots of each flower's botanical and common names. That is why Bobby Ward's A Contemplation Upon Flowers, which traces the history of eighty plants from the time of the Greek's to today, is such a treasure.This book is a must have for any serious gardener. Bobby Ward reveals long lost secretes about some of the world's favorite gardening plants that until now where lost and hidden in books and manuscripts that have been out of print for ages. Just when I thought I knew almost everything about some of my favorite plants, this book revealed a wealth of information about their long lost histories.