Botanical books

My Paper Plants

| Flower Roberts

The green is gone here on the mountain. My other home is never this brown in November. The wind and cold have kept me inside more than I am used to. These conditions are causing what I call “green anemia.”

Plant people know what I am referring to. I do have a few special plants here, but they cannot compare to my indoor jungle back home.

Two clivias, a cereus and an epiphyllum

To address my need for green, I have a large selection of paper plants. I have put these out on the Zebra so I can walk by and get a plant buzz. I will take you on a tour of my paper conservatory.

Mary Delay Notecards

Here is the back of the box. If you have never seen her work made of cut colored paper, stop reading and look her up. I have several books about her life. You need to know her.

The Passion flower on the right is my favorite.

My sis ordered an antique book about her for me as a gift. It is one of my treasures.

THIS book has artwork from Kew Royal Botanical Gardens. It has groupings so you can pick your fix for the day.

Botanicum curated by Katie Scott and Kathy Willis

Almost every page is frameworthy.  I consider this another treasure.

Ornamental shrubs

Wildflowers

I got this WALL COLLAGE set with two sided cards and sticky circles. You can make your own diplay of plants, animals, fungi, planets… If you have a little scientist or artist, they should have something similar to play with. Cards could be sorted or copied. I can imagine a lot of thoughtful quiet-time with this.

Wall collage kit

The last book I will share is a sticker book.

Unbelievable artwork

I have not removed a single sticker. It is too precious to dismantle.

Desert plants section
Rainforest section

I will share more in another post. This is how I plan to survive my first winter on the mountain. If you know someone who suffers from “green anemia” you may want to get them a survival kit of paper plants.

FLOWER

A Beautiful Botany Book from Kew

| Flower Roberts

This is one of my favorite gifts from my daughter, Rose. It has the most gorgeous illustrations of plants. It is also organized into plant types and explains how those plants are related.

It is a book I wonder through on cold, rainy days. I can pretend I am in the rainforest among the tall trees and hanging vines.

Or I can dream of being in a warm Orchid House among the breathtaking blooms.

This very large book also serves as a piece of art in my library. Illustrator Katie Scott and writer Kathy Willis have created a treasure for anyone who loves botany or unusual plants. Brava!

FLOWER

An Enlightening Book of Botany

| Flower Roberts

I just finished this fascinating book investigating the possibility of plant intelligence.

It is written by a curious reporter who left her job to follow leads all over the planet so she could interview botanists in the field and in their labs.

What a dream, to mix a passion for writing and plants into a grand adventure.

BRAVO ZOE! You are my new hero.

Flower

I Wish I Was Mee

| Flower Roberts

I have been too sickly to go out into the garden this week,

instead I traveled down the Amazon with Margaret Mee and her friend Rita.

I would have been terrified running the rapids in a dugout canoe,

if I had not been safely tucked in my bed while doing it.

Not only is she adventurous, she is also an artist.

Her botanical watercolors are famous for their beauty as well as accuracy.

Margaret Mee gets placed on my hero list with Marianne North and Beatrix Potter.

I was almost glad to be sick, so that I could float and forage through the jungles.

Almost..

FLOW

Inside a Book

| Flower Roberts

It’s warm and dry inside a book.

I have a winter stash that I only allow myself to look at when the weather is bad.

It is raining again today. Hooray!

I finally get to enjoy the two books my friend Joyce gave me in June.

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They are Flora Forager books. Both by the brilliant Bridget Beth Collins.

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She does magic with flower and plant pieces.

Some of her art is mosaic pictures.

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Some are replicas of famous paintings.

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Many are mandalas made of natural materials.

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The seasonal journal has plenty of room

to write that poetry I have been putting off putting down.

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I plan to lose myself in these books on this dreary day.

Oh look. There I am now!

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FLOW

 

My Hero, Marianne North

| Flower Roberts

My dreams are to be an artist and a plant hunter.

So, it is only fitting that I stumbled across this book in the middle of the night.

When I can’t sleep I do one of two things.

I play the app game, “Name That Bird” or I search through sample books on my Nook.

Who could resist this cover page?

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After reading a sample of Marianne’s adventures, I was hooked.

She was an artistic, female version of Charles Darwin, another hero of mine.   The two knew each other!

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I then ordered the Nook book Abundant Beauty.   No hard copies available on-line.

Her earlier book, Recollections of a Happy Life, is free as an e-book.

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The paperback book, Marianne North: A Very Intrepid Painter, by Michelle Payne can be purchased.

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Marianne traveled around the world in the 1800’s painting exotic plants, flowers, fruits, insects, birds and animals.

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She also painted landscapes.

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When she returned home, she donated a building in Kew Gardens to house all her paintings.

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She wanted to include a snack bar (tea room) but they wouldn’t allow that.

What an adventurous and talented woman, who was way ahead of her time.

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FLOWER

 

 

 

 

Hot Out? Stay In.

| Flower Roberts

July is brutal in North Carolina.

I have been out today working on two different posts.

I  just can’t stand the thought of another shower before my afternoon appointment.

So I plan to look over a new book I discovered via my Nook.

I check out samples of e-books.  If I like them, I then order the paper version.

My latest gardening book is A Gardener’s Latin by Richard Bird.

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I have learned a lot of Latin over the years as a scientist, but this one breaks it down for gardeners.

This is a lovely book that is hardback and a good size for carrying around.

It is sectioned by groupings such as prefixes and suffixes, places, textures, habitats, colors, shapes…

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Did you know that roseus, ruber, rubens, rufus, russatus and sanguineus all refer to various shades of red?

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The illustrations on each page are colorful and delightful.

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I plan to take this little treasure with me to my appointment.

No use sitting around looking at old magazines.

Read with the FLOWER.

 

 

 

 

 

I Just Won the Lottery, sort of…

| Flower Roberts

I found another treasure yesterday.

Rare Treasures from the Library of the Natural History Museum.

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DO NOT ROLL YOUR EYES!

It is NOT just a book.

It is a book of art about art in a box with art.  JACKPOT!

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There are thirty-six , 10 x 13 prints of famous paintings.

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I have studied many of these works for years in my reading about plant hunters and their rare finds.

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Thornton’s “The Queen Flower” of Strelitizia reginae/Bird-of-paradise (and my shoe)

I feel like I have the whole world in my hands.

And now they are MINE…ALL MINE!

There are enough prints in here to cover every wall in this house with beauty.

Art with a story behind it.

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The who, the what, the when and the where.

AND…

It cost $19.95.

SEE…. I did win the lottery. Sort of.

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