The rose is the world's favorite flower: its beauty and scent make it the acknowledged queen of the garden. Roses have been used for thousands of years as perfume, as decoration, and even in the cuisine of many countries. The power and appeal of the rose can be seen in art, history, and in horticulture. "The Little Book of Roses" opens the door to the magical world of the rose from the flower's symbolic roles in legend to the secrets of today's top rose breeders (an industry itself worth millions of dollars). Besides fascinating rose facts, this Little Book is also sprinkled throughout with interesting rose trivia. For example, one fluid ounce of the world's most expensive perfume requires as many as 28 dozen roses! "The Little Book of Roses" offers a pleasing bouquet of rich illustrations, useful information, and interesting details affectionately dedicated to this voluptuous blossom.
Flammarion presents its series of informative, richly illustrated guides, covering lifestyle and cultural topics. Find out everything you want to know about your favorite subject in one handy volume.
- Unique thematic treatment with extensive use of key words and cross-referencing
- Over 70 alphabetically organized bite-sized entries in every title
- Attractive slimline format
- 100 color illustrations
- Summaries of key facts and dates in easy-reference tables
- Exclusive buyer's guide or list of useful addresses to find out more

"Rhododendrons & Azaleas" profiles over 4,000 varieties of this highly popular and striking plant. Illustrated with 1,100 color photographs, each entry includes a description of the plant and flower color; notes on hardiness, height and spread, and flowering time; advice on cultivation and proven performers; and the name of the parent plants, the raiser, and similar varieties. Practical advice is also given on rhododendrons in the landscape, maintenance and husbandry, pests, diseases, problems and disorders, propagation, and buying and collecting rhododendrons, along with a brief history and a guide to their classification.

A richly illustrated guide to the wildflowers and other flora of coastal Britain, Ireland and Northwest Europe The rugged and beautiful coastal regions of Britain and Ireland are among the crowning glories of these islands. Few visitors can fail to marvel at the stunning sight of Cornwall's clifftops resplendent with flowering Thrift, or be struck by the resilience of plants that thrive on the inhospitable shingle beaches of Dungeness on the coast of Kent. This field guide covers more than 600 species of wildflowers and other coastal flora found in Britain and Ireland, and coastal mainland Northwest Europe. Detailed species accounts describe wildflowers, grasses, sedges and rushes that occur on the coast or in abundance within sight of the sea. Stunningly illustrated throughout, this comprehensive, user-friendly guide also covers trees and shrubs, a range of other groups from mosses and seaweeds, and more broadly, the natural history of coastal habitats. Covers more than 600 species of flowering plants Features over 1,500 spectacular colour photos Describes other groups such as ferns, mosses, liverworts, lichens, fungi and seaweeds Provides up-to-date colour distribution maps for Britain and Ireland

Charlotte Moss encourages readers to bring the garden indoors with ideas for arranging flowers, selecting containers, and placing blossoms around the house. An inviting cluster of blooms on a guest room s bedside table, lavish floral displays for parties and holidays, single stems adding life to any corner of a room Moss has been photographing her flower arrangements for over a decade. This book is a celebration of her artistry and a testament to flowers as part of day-to-day life. From Moss s grander displays in the city to her more informal and breezy creations at her home in the country, as well as in the refined interiors of her clients, the visual result is a chronicle of the myriad ways flowers provide inspiration indoors and out. Readers will be further motivated as Moss describes the contributions of past tastemakers: Gloria Vanderbilt for her ingenious use of floral patterns in her licensed products, Pauline de Rothschild for her fantastic tablescapes, Bunny Mellon for her profusive use of topiaries, Constance Spry for the use of inventive containers and for her groundbreaking artistry, and Lady Bird Johnson for her embrace of the simple, exquisite wildflower. With nature as her muse, Moss implores us to create the backdrop for a life well lived, imbuing every day with flair, beauty, and elegance.

Orchids, the epitome of floral beauty, have long inspired poetry, adventure, art and scientific discovery. In Orchid Muse, historian and home orchid grower Erica Hannickel brings together fascinating tales of the orchid-smitten throughout history, along with tips on growing the exotic blooms at the centre of each account. Consider, for instance, Empress Eugenie and Queen Victoria, the two most powerful women in nineteenth-century Europe, who shared a passion for Coelogyne cristata. John Roebling, builder of the Brooklyn Bridge, and Raymond Burr, the actor famed for playing Perry Mason, cultivated thousands of orchids, introducing captivating new and unusual species. Transporting the reader from hazardous Amazonian journeys to a seedy dime museum in Gilded Age New York's Tenderloin, from the glories of the palace gardens of Chinese Empress Cixi to the island of Bourbon, where the vanilla orchid thrives, Orchid Muse spans the world, exploring our enduring fascination with these exquisite flowers.

The origin of roses is shrouded in mystery. Fossilised species of roses have been found across the northern hemisphere and are estimated to date back some 35-40 million years. The remarkable beauty, fragrance and usefulness of the rose have guaranteed its spread right across the globe. Throughout the years, its potent power has come to symbolise many things, but above all, the rose is a plant to be enjoyed and wondered at. Roses focuses on the classic, ageless and enduring flower that straddles garden-friendly modernity whilst also celebrating the style and grace of the old. Ranging from overblown, multi-petalled or deliciously simple and delicate, Roses rightly extols these beautiful blooms, and includes hands-on know-how and history of the world's favourite flower. With 45 species of Rose included, explore the flowers with the best visual appearance, most fragrant perfume, the easiest to grow and those ideal for cutting beautiful flowers from.

Let Louise Riotte Introduce You to Hundreds of Flowers and All Their Friends (and Enemies, Too!)

Companion planting is simply planning your garden to take advantage of the antural friendships between plants. In Roses Love Garlic you'll discover how flowers help or hinder nearby vegetables and other flowers.

'I absolutely adore Clare Nolan's approaches to garden planning and creative use of color in her designs. This gem is sure to delight any flower lover.' - Erin Benzakein of Floret Flower Farm Planting cut flowers brings that 'grow-your-own' excitement to a whole new level - being able to step out of the back door and pick a single stem for beside the bed or pull together a posy for a friend is a joy. In this beautifully designed book, brimming with inspirational photographs, Clare Nolan reveals her secrets for growing a bountiful harvest as well as styling spectacular homegrown displays that will fill your home with colour and the gorgeous scent of the garden year-round. She takes the mystique out of what to grow and guides you through the entire process - from choosing the plants to suit both your garden and home decor and laying out your cutting patch, to planning ahead so you get your perfect palette of colour, texture and shape to play with at the right time. A whole chapter on arranging will inspire you to create spectacular arrangements for your home without the need for complicated floristry techniques.

Happily for us, these days they are affordable luxuries - and easy to grow as well. This charming little hardcover book includes 40 full-colour botanical illustrations, basic botany and history, everything you need to know to grow gorgeous blooms in the garden, tips for creating beautiful arrangements, plus quotes, lore, and notable gardens and growers. Like a bouquet of tulips, this book is the perfect hostess gift or Mother's Day present for gardeners and flower lovers! Perfect for flower fans, this giftable little love letter to the tulip is bursting with tips, tricks, and facts.

For beginning gardeners and homeowners, this handbook shows you exactly how to plan, build, and plant a simple raised bed. Fully illustrated step-by-step instructions make it easy and ensure success! In just a weekend, using a few basic materials and minimal building skills, you can set up a complete garden bed adapted for vegetables, flowers, or herbs.

Here are 100 beautiful orchids that you can grow in Florida.

These orchids were chosen for their beauty, ease of cultivation, and suitability to Florida's climate. Whether you are an old hand at growing orchids or are a beginner anxious to try it, you will find help here choosing the plants that will work for you, as well as help on how best to make them prosper.

First you will learn about the structure of orchids; how they are named; and how to pot, water, feed, ventilate, and protect them from weather and insects. You will find you can grow them inside and outside in Florida, and some even in the ground as part of the landscape. Then you will be introduced to 100 fabulous orchids that are well-suited to Florida. You'll find answers to commonly asked questions, lists of suppliers, and a handy reference chart to plant size, flower color, bloom size, bloom time, and exposure.

A beautifully illustrated and unique history of the rose-the "queen of flowers"-in art, medicine, cuisine, and more "From noted rosarian Peter Kukielski comes this unique and handsome book that traces the many ways that roses have captured human imagination throughout the history of civilization."-Meghan Shinn, Horticulture "I would recommend Rosa as a gift for anyone who loves flowers, although once purchased you would find it hard to pass on!"-Judith Blacklock, Flora Magazine Few flowers have quite the same allure or as significant a place in history as the rose. A symbol of love, power, royalty, beauty, and joy, the rose has played many roles, both literal and symbolic, in poetry, art, literature, music, fashion, medicine, perfume, decoration, cuisine, and more. In this beautifully illustrated guide, award-winning horticulturist Peter E. Kukielski and his coauthor, Charles Phillips, tell the fascinating and many-layered history of this "queen of flowers." The book explores many stories from the long association of roses with human societies, from their first cultivation-likely in China some five thousand years ago-to their modern genetic cultivars. It shows how roses have been prominent across time and many cultures, including ancient Greece and Rome, Christianity, Islam, and Sufism. The book, with more than 140 color illustrations, offers a unique look at the essential contributions that roses have made throughout human history.

Ranunculus offers advice on how to care for and propagate these colourful cultivated members of the buttercup family. Naomi Slade explores a wide range of ranunculus species and cultivars, all beautifully photographed by Georgianna Lane in their technicolour glory from palest pink to deep burgundy via white, orange, red and yellow. Pert as a rosebud and blousy as a dahlia, Ranunculus asiaticus is the flower of the moment. From ancestors that grew wild in the eastern Mediterranean, these Persian buttercups have been bred and selected to create fully double blooms; with layers of delicate, tissue-paper petals sculpted to perfection and available in a range of colours to suit any occasion. The buttercup family is a huge and diverse one, however, and the genus Ranunculus contains not just these exotic florists' darlings, but a whole range of their close relatives too. Some are familiar: when fields and lawns are sprinkled with golden meadow buttercups, we can be sure that spring has arrived. Yet there are also rare mountain blooms, perched on crags and fed by the melting snow, and forms of Ranunculus that thrive in pond margins or flourish in fast-flowing streams. Naomi Slade explores the world of buttercups, from their wild origins to their most successfully cultivated and most popular forms. Some are easy to grow, some less so, and this book offers tips and advice to help the reader embrace not just those near-wild forms that lend themselves to naturalistic planting schemes, and the exquisite, collectible alpines, but also the brilliant, desirable, Persian buttercups that are so perfect for cutting and arranging.

In this book, Sharon Amos explains how to design and create a beautiful garden for little or no money, offering tips on bartering for clippings, getting a bargain at garage sales or neighbourhood fairs, digging up suckers or adapting wild species and controlling them in a garden environment. She provides a comprehensive directory of 80 plants including detailed advice on where and how to grow a wide variety of garden favourites, from snowdrops to poppies. With beautiful illustrations, Plants for Free is the perfect gift book for cultivating your garden on a budget of next-to-nothing.

' How to Grow Plants from Seeds is a great little book - a hand-holding, step-by-step guide with clear pictures and instructions. It demystifies the process and covers flowers as well as vegetables and herbs. A most useful present for anyone wanting to get started on sowing seeds.' Country Living 'Whether you want to grow a cutting garden or a harvest of fresh produce, discover the basic rules for success.' The Garden How To Grow Plants From Seeds does away, once and for all, with the idea that there's something difficult about growing direct from seed. There's no need to rely on the professionals to raise seedlings for you: seeds are not only cheap to buy and environmentally friendly but, if you follow a few basic rules, they're also fantastically rewarding, not least because a single packet will usually leave you with plenty of spares to swap with fellow enthusiasts. Whether you're a novice or an experienced gardener, if you want to nurture an impressive cutting garden or aim to have a bounteous harvest of fruit and vegetables, here's what you need to know, presented in a straightforward and accessible way. You'll discover the basic rules for different seeds, their sowing preferences (Indoor, under cover or direct- to-plot? Surface-sow or cover up? Water or spray?), how long they take to germinate, and how to prick out, pot on and raise your infant plants to become sturdy, productive adults. The book opens with a basic primer showing how seeds work, to give every grower the best chance at success. This is followed by extensive chapters on raising food and flowers from seed with plenty of detailed plant profiles included, and finally there's a guide to collecting seeds from your plants and how to save and swap - so that you, too, can become a seed evangelist.

Welcome to modern matchmaking - for plants! All you need to do is be honest about what you can invest into your plant relationship (attentiveness, experience ... sunlight) and voila - The Modern Gardener will suggest the best matched plant partner for you. Nothing livens up a room, windowsill or small yard like the presence of leafy Swiss cheese plants, angular succulents, perennial peonies or your own little herb garden. And this comprehensive reference book starts by covering all the best types of plants and planting for every type of indoor room, patio and balcony - from decorative and beneficial, low maintenance or useful edible plants - you'll find everything you need to know about how to find the perfect plants for you and your lifestyle, and how help them to thrive. The second half of the book - the Personal Plant Selector - features an extensive directory of over 100 plants, in which you will be introduced to each species and their characteristics, benefits and needs, including quick facts on potting and repotting, correct care and more. This beautifully designed encyclopedia of plants also includes a comprehensive index and a cross-referencing system, to make it easy to find information quickly. It's the ultimate guide to your personal plant kingdom!

Whether you love growing, love creating, or just want to liven up your outdoor space, a container garden is just the answer. So many of us nowadays are crammed into our homes and a garden is a luxury that few can afford. But there is always room for a bit of greenery; whether it's herbs and spices to add fresh flavour to your food, or putting a jungle on your windowsill, a container can enable growers to bring nature to the most inhospitable and smallest spaces. Frances Tophill covers the sustainable, crafty and culinary aspects of container gardening. From urns and troughs to chimney stacks and hanging baskets alongside what to grow inside them - bonsai to annuals, bulbs, grasses and bamboos, tumbling and creeping plants and flowers - there are also 40 ideas on how to pair plants and pots, including upcycling existing items and creating your own containers.

Announcing the changing of the seasons and the coming of summer, Lilacs are ubiquitous both within gardens and as a wild flower. Their scented flowers are well-known to many with whorls of fragrant blossom sitting perfectly at nose-height. Symbolising first love, their fleeting bouquet can provoke a sense of nostalgia. As a garden flower they became a popular choice in the eighteenth century, particularly across North America, and lingering shrubs and blooms in the wild are a telltale indication of where earlier dwellings might have been. Naomi Slade explores a wide range of different Lilacs, drawing our attention to the varying shades of pink, lavender, mauve, burgundy and of course, lilac, and also to white, blue and yellow varieties. Lilacs are durable plants and this book offers advice on how to care for and propagate your flowers, how to identify rare species and practical tips for how to get the most glorious blooms and the most bountiful cut flowers.

This inspirational book from Kew's orchid experts reveals the easiest, most attractive and most popular plants to grow today. Orchids come from the second largest plant family (with 28,000 members) and have a reputation for diversity and trickiness - but expert Philip Seaton chooses 60 of the best species to become permanent and happy members of your home. Through a combination of 12 projects and easy to follow practical advice he shows how to welcome new plants, to revive their flagging spirits as well as their basic care and cultivation. He shows how to produce and train flowers, to collect and sow their seed, and how to plant and display them in a terrarium, or on bark or in a basket. Find out when to water them, how to repot them and the ideal room and conditions that each orchid needs to thrive. The combination of botanical beauty and practical advice will inspire beginners and experienced growers to grow new species in many different ways. This book is from the Kew Experts series, in which the top gardeners and botanical scientists from Royal Botanic Kew Gardens offer up advice and information as well as suggesting handy projects on a range of gardening topics. Other titles include: Companion to Medicinal Plants, Guide to Growing Bulbs, Guide to Growing Fruit, Guide to Growing Herbs, Guide to Growing Roses, Guide to Growing Succulents and Cacti, Guide to Growing Trees, Guide to Growing Vegetables and Guide to Growing House Plants.