Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?

We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life: supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and pepper drove the Age of Discovery, coffee beans fueled the Enlightenment and cottonseed sparked the Industrial Revolution. Seeds are fundamental objects of beauty, evolutionary wonders, and simple fascinations. Yet, despite their importance, seeds are often seen as commonplace, their extraordinary natural and human histories overlooked. Thanks to this stunning new book, they can be overlooked no more. This is a book of knowledge, adventure, and wonder, spun by an award-winning writer with both the charm of a fireside story-teller and the hard-won expertise of a field biologist. A fascinating scientific adventure, it is essential reading for anyone who loves to see a plant grow.

Reverence takes on a new meaning in this original memoir of an avid gardener walking the Camino de Santiago. The Camino de Santiago has been a journey for pilgrims for more than 1,000 years, testing-to varying degrees-their spirit, faith, and physical endurance. Lyndon Penner's attention lies elsewhere. A renowned gardener and lover of literature, he revels in the plants, trees, and flowers that tell the history of the people and ecology of northern Spain. Brimming with wry observations-of nature, himself, and other pilgrims on the road- The Way of the Gardener reveals the beauty and the darkness of the human condition while underscoring the deeply fascinating nature of nature itself. This textured work makes for perfect armchair-or garden-reading.

Gardening with the expert: helpful solutions to 1001 of the most frequently asked questions in one accessible at-a-glance guide. This title includes advice on everyday gardening dilemmas, with an easy-to-follow directory covering both wide-ranging questions about larger aspects of gardening as well as specific issues on problem plants. It includes succinct queries on garden site, aspect, soil, walls, floors, lawns, trees, conifers, shrubs, annuals, perennials, herbs, houseplants, vegetables, containers, the water garden, compost, pruning, training, propagation, weeds, tools, and greenhouses. With more than 700 informative and attractive colour photographs to accompany the clear text, this question-and-answer encyclopedia will help you find a solution to every common garden problem. This easy-to-read gardening companion will help to demystify some of the common problems gardeners face, offering explanations and solutions that are easy to put into practice. From general queries that require large-scale planning, such as how to decide where to site a patio, to specific queries, for example, about how to prune a clematis, this handy volume offers invaluable guidance and suggestions for successful gardening. Each chapter looks at a different aspect of gardening, so finding solutions to particular problems will be straightforward. All terminology is clearly explained, so whether your question is general or specific, this comprehensive volume will help you to find a solution.