This colorful Victorian book evokes an age gone by, before the days of email and overnight shipping, when communication between people was a very special occasion, made more difficult by time and space. To Victorian letter-writers of the West a new, exotic and secret language came from the East-communicating through flowers. The language of flowers became so refined in the nineteenth century that this dictionary was necessary. Using this source, one could send a message of reproach, passion, friendship, quarrel or a myriad of other sentiments singly and combined via a simple bouquet without ever penning a single word.

California's unique plants range in size from the stately Coast Redwoods to the minute belly plants of the southern deserts and in age from the four-thousand year-old Bristlecone Pines to ephemeral annuals whose life span can be counted in weeks. Available at last in a thoroughly updated and revised edition, this popular book is the only concise overview of the state's remarkable flora, its plant communities, and the environmental factors that shape them. It features 188 color photographs that illustrate plants and typical plant communities around the state, and new chapters that give expanded discussions of the evolution of the California landscape, recent changes in California's flora, and more. It introduces basic concepts of plant taxonomy and plant ecology through clear examples and covers topics such as soil, climate, and geography.

Trees have inspired a very special magical alphabet and divinatory system, Ogham. This beautiful and mysterious writing system is very much a part of the world of the Celts. Its association with the God Ogma points to its importance to the Celtic priesthood known as the Druids and their nature wisdom, their ancient and magical relationship with trees and with sacred groves. Woods have this ability to rejuvenate and heal, to smooth away stress and anxiety, and as you linger under the trees a dreamlike quality develops, and you find your mind drifting in ways associated with the practice of meditation, the brainwave patterns change, and the rhythms of your body seem to slow and strengthen. Come with us for a walk in the woods, explore the primeval forests of the mind, meet the beautiful and magical trees of the world, and find out how they might communicate their wisdom to us.