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A fascinating look at the myths, folklore and botany behind over 70
British wildflowers. A fascinating look at the myths, folklore and
botany behind over 70 British wildflowers. From hedgerows to
meadows, wildflowers can be found throughout our green and pleasant
land. In this book, journalist and garden writer Rosamond
Richardson traces the history and myths behind each flower to
discover the fascinating ways in which the plants were used.
Discover which flower used as a medieval lie-detector to test the
innocence of suspected criminals, or stuffed in the shoes of Roman
centurions to prevent damage to their feet as they marched. From
periwinkles, beloved of Chaucer, and the oxlips and 'nodding
violet' growing in the forest of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the
book celebrates the important role wildflowers have played in
literature, as well as their uses in food and medicine, and the
history, myths and tales behind each species. The
nineteenth-century poet John Clare wrote, 'I love wildflowers (none
are weeds with me)'. This book is a celebration of the bountiful
history behind Britain's beloved wildflowers and is perfect for
anyone with an interest in gardening, history or the natural world.
'A beautiful book' Tim Birkhead, author of BIRD SENSE 'A glorious,
beautifully written pilgrimage into the soaring world of birds' Bel
Mooney, DAILY MAIL Written by a beginner-birdwatcher with the
freshness and passion of a convert, WAITING FOR THE ALBINO DUNNOCK
explores the world of birds through the seasons of a single year.
It describes encounters with particular birds in the landscapes of
East Anglia where the author is rooted. Occasional journeys farther
afield take the reader to truly wild places in the Outer Hebrides
and Eastern Europe. Yet the ordinary experience of birdwatching is
also far more than just that. The beauty of birds has the power to
change lives, as it did the author's, and as in the case of the
all-but-legendary snow leopard, it is more about the search than
the result. Personal and elegiac in tone, the writing is an unusual
combination of prose poems based on the actual experience of seeing
a specific bird for the first time, woven with elements of science
and wisdom traditions, ornithology (and its punning counterpart
ornitheology), mythology and philosophy, taxonomy and history,
literature and folklore, conveying the wider picture of what it
means to be human in relationship to nature. WAITING FOR THE ALBINO
DUNNOCK explores the degree to which wildness is embedded in the
human psyche and how beauty is central to our mental and emotional
wellbeing, while highlighting the careless damage we are inflicting
on the natural world.
'A beautiful book' Tim Birkhead, author of Bird Sense 'The prose is
sublime, and so is the intelligence behind it' Bel Mooney, Daily
Mail The extraordinary world of birds has the power to change
lives, as it did the author's. The pleasure and fascination of
bird-watching, together with the silence and stillness involved,
can play a part in changing the way that we live our lives - and
can help us when we have to deal with adversity. Personal and
elegiac, Waiting for the Albino Dunnock shows us how beauty is
central to our emotional wellbeing, and reminds us of the careless
damage we are inflicting on the natural world. This glorious
pilgrimage into the soaring world of birds opens our eyes afresh to
the beauty which surrounds us.
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