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...
Tag - horticulture
Nigel Chaffey
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?
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.
Novel tree hunted by fictional Victorians
You can listen to an abridged version of this page as an audio file. The Plant Hunter* by TL Mogford, 2022. Welbeck Fiction Limited. I don’t really read novels (Amanda Prahl). It’s not that I have anything against that...
Cultivating interest in fruits
Taming fruit: How orchards have transformed the land, offered sanctuary, and inspired creativity, by Bernd Brunner, 2021. Greystone Books Ltd. One might tame lions, or dogs, or other animals, but, does one really tame...
Welcome to the wonderful world of … weeds(!)
Plants despised today still have value, and this book explores their contribution to the British ecosystem.
A book about trees and fungi, what’s not to like?*
Fungi and trees: Their complex relationships, by Lynne Boddy, 2021. Arboricultural Association. Arbor is the borrowed-from-Latin word for a tree. You’d therefore expect a book from the UK’s Arboricultural Association to...
This is a berry good book!
Berries by Victoria Dickenson 2020. Reaktion Books Ltd. Even though I’m a Botanist I’ve never had a great understanding of fruits and seeds. I am however, aware that the fruit botanically known as a berry has a very...
Mum’s the word* in new plant book
Chrysanthemum by Twigs Way 2020. Reaktion Books Ltd. Despite being a declared lover of plants, I didn’t include ‘mums’ – as chrysanthemums are commonly known – amongst the plants that I consider most interesting. It was...
Does Viagra really help preserve flowers?
It is said that sildenafil citrate can help preserve flowers. Here's an experiment that you could do at home, but probably shouldn't, to find out.
Alun Salt
Primroses and primulas aplenty
Primrose by Elizabeth Lawson, 2019. Reaktion Books Ltd. To the uninitiated, it may seem rather improbable that anybody can write 288 pages about the primrose. After all, whilst it may be understood that primrose is a...
Does your garden taste as good as it looks?
Bees in the UK have lost nearly all their natural habitat and gardens now provide a vital source of food, but gardeners are planting more exotic plants in their gardens. Do native bees share our adventurous tastes...
By Royal appointment…
A new Royal Charter will enhance the Institute of Horticulture’s ability to increase the profile, recognition and standing of professional horticulture.
Making more orchids
Although micropropagation is a common method these days, much of the science behind regeneration of whole plants from tiny specks of plant tissue remains uncertain.
annbot