Nigel Chaffey takes a deep dive in Scott Zona's new book that explains to gardeners what it is that their plants are doing.
Category - Reviews
Nigel Chaffey
More plant secrets (please share)!
Nigel Chaffey examines a book that aims to plant the seed of botanical curiosity to see if it bears fruit.
The Tree Book, a book about trees (and people)
Should any trees reincarnated as The Tree Book be pleased or offended?
Plant science, the secret’s out!
The Science of Plants: Inside their secret world by Dorling Kindersley, 2022. Dorling Kindersley, published in association with Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. I had a great sense of déjà vu (Stephanie Pappas) when looking...
The seed sleuth, forensic botany goes veggie
The Seed Detective: Uncovering the secret histories of remarkable vegetables by Adam Alexander, 2022. Chelsea Green Publishing UK. What do you think of when seed banks are mentioned? Perhaps Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank...
An extraordinary book about trees (and people)
Nigel Chaffey reviews a book about Trees, but is there agreement about what a Tree is?
The geek’s guide to weird and wonderful plants
“Plants continually excite and surprise me” says Michael Perry. but how does Nigel Chaffey feel about Perry's new book Hortus Curious?
Plants named for the great, the good, and the bad..?
A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but where do these names come from? Nigel Chaffey reviews a book that explores the stories of some of the people behind the plant names.
Sowing the seeds of future food security
"It’s easy to see how The Age of Seeds could be an award-winning book."
House plants – the exotic within the home
Should African Violets have a conservation tariff to help protect their natural habitats? A new book asks some serious questions about the plants with which we share our homes.
Revealed, the hidden kingdom of fungi
Author Keith Seifert is a charming guide as he introduces us to a fungal world many of us are largely unaware of.
Crime Scene Botanics, the forensic side of botany
Planting Clues should not only appeal to the general reader, but will also serve well as a textbook for an undergraduate course on forensic botany.
For fans of fungi – The magic of mushrooms
You can listen to an abridged version of this page as an audio file. The Magic of Mushrooms: Fungi in folklore, superstition and traditional medicine, Sandra Lawrence, 2022. Welbeck, in partnership with RBG Kew. How...
Greening the next generation
The Green Planet by Leisa Stewart–Sharpe and Kim Smith, 2022. Puffin Books (an imprint of the Penguin Random House group of companies). Not so long ago I appraised The Green Planet by Simon Barnes. Although I had...
