A Contemplation upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature

Rating:
Summary: A dipping book
Review: A Contemplation upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature. Bobby Ward. Timber Press. 1999.

In his introduction Bobby Ward, botanist and environmental scientist asserts that writers have contemplated upon flowers since the beginning of written history, and his well-researched book proves his point.

This book neatly manages to balance science and art, keeping in mind both botanical accuracy and the poetic licence taken by some of the more fanciful Victorian poets. Mr Ward has researched some 82 varieties of flowers and arranged them alphabetically by their common name. You can read it in sequence if you like an orderly approach. I found myself picking out my favourite plants and discovering their ancient history as well as the way in which poets and playwrights had portrayed them. You'll always find treasures:

- the name 'lilac' comes from Persian and Arabic words describing its color. Its Latin name 'syringa' comes from a Greek word meaning 'pipe' and refers to its hollow stem. Our word 'syringe' comes from the same root.

- an ancient legend says that peonies were only to be picked at night. The woodpecker guarding them would attack the eyes of anyone picking them during the day.

This is that rare treat, a "dipping book". You pick out the parts that grab your interest immediately, then keep it beside your armchair to dip into as time goes on. If you enjoy discovering more about the lore and literature of the plants in your garden you'll find "A Contemplation upon Flowers" a treasure to be added to your bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: Dainty young thing....
Review: Bobby Ward, a retired environmental scientist who now edits and writes books on gardening, has assembled a nice compendium on selected literature and folk lore associated with some of our most beloved flowers. He covers Daffodils (Wordsworth) and Pansies (that's for thoughts) and other familiar blossoms, as well as a few not so familiar plants.

My favorite essay is about the Honeysuckle, literally a flower from which one sucks honey. Also known as Woodbine, this little plant has over 180 species, primarily native to the Northern Hemisphere, but there is at least one that grows in England ... "I know a place where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite overcanopied with luscious Woodbine.." where of Tatania the Queen of the Fairies sleeps. The Honeysuckle belongs to the genus "Lonicera" in the family "Caprifoliaceae" literally goat's leaves--probably because they loved to eat them.

We learn of the patron saints of gardeners, and specific flowers, like Saint John's Wort named for saints. The Crocus is the Queen, with it's many religious associations ranging from Lupercalia to Saint Valentines Day. Many poets and writers have created verse and prose to honor the little Crocus, harbinger of spring.

Mr. Ward used secondary material to develop his book, so he perpetuates some myths -- pagans were not likely to have built fires to ward off witches and devils since Christians invented the latter long after the pagens came into being. If the local country folk built fires to ward off witches and devils they were practicing a 'Santaria' type religion (mixture of Christian and pagan beliefs).

Mr. Ward edited a book of essays by Elizabeth Lawrence entitled, "A Garden of One's Own" and is a fellow North Carolinian. So I was quite surprised to see that he did not include her very fine book "Through the Garden Gate" in his bibliography. Lawrence's book covers much of the same material found in Ward's book, and she wrote it some 20-30 years earlier.

All in all, this is a nice book, and since it brings together material from a variety of sources it's a good place to start if you're interested in the connections between flora, folk tales, English literature, and Latin names.

Rating:
Summary: Rare book that explains each flower¿s role in the history
Review: There are many books that tell gardeners the growing conditions and requirements of different flowers. However, rare is the book that explains each flower's role in the world's history and literature, as well as their medicinal uses and, the roots of each flower's botanical and common names. That is why Bobby Ward's A Contemplation Upon Flowers, which traces the history of eighty plants from the time of the Greek's to today, is such a treasure.

This book is a must have for any serious gardener. Bobby Ward reveals long lost secretes about some of the world's favorite gardening plants that until now where lost and hidden in books and manuscripts that have been out of print for ages. Just when I thought I knew almost everything about some of my favorite plants, this book revealed a wealth of information about their long lost histories.