#BookReview HOW TO MAKE A WILDFLOWER MEADOW by JAMES HEWETSON-BROWN @filbertpress

ABOUT THE BOOK

Flowering meadows are appealing to gardeners and valuable for wildlife, but they can be difficult to establish. This book will change all that with its pragmatic yet eco-friendly advice. Gardeners and landscape professionals alike will relish James Hewetson-Brown’s common sense approach. There is no need to be an expert on habitat planting or plant ecology—just follow the step-by-step techniques. Using seed, plug plants, bulbs, and roll-out turf, you can establish meadow the same year you plant it. The book includes 30 case studies that describe successful meadow plantings alongside paths, utility areas, and ponds and in mixed borders, orchards, green roofs, sloping banks, and containers. Interviews offer a fascinating insight into the the installation process and the pleasures of living with a wildflower meadow.

PUBLISHED BY FILBERT PRESS

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon

MY REVIEW

This is a book packed full of great advice, and bright clear photos, to set you on the path of creating your own wildflower meadow, no matter how big or small the size of your plot is! And with wildflower meadows in decline we all need to do our bit, and this is the book to inspire you to create our own little patch of wildflower heaven!

This book takes you through step by step on the different processes that can be used to create a meadow from scratch – be that seeds, plugs, turf – and no matter what situation you have, there are tips to guide you through and make the right decision for a successful wildflower meadow creation!

It also delves in to the history, the benefits for wildlife, how to maintain and solve problems and I was also impressed with the case studies which featured meadows in various locations – green roofs, by the side of roads, modern, woodland – to name but a few – and featuring photos to show the before and after and help you through the design process.

Thank you to Filbert Press for my copy in return for a honest review.

★★★★★

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#BookReview THE CREVICE GARDEN by PAUL SPRIGGS, KENTON SETH #TheCreviceGarden @filbertpress

ABOUT THE BOOK

A crevice garden replicates the environmental conditions of mountain tops, deserts, coastlines and virtually all other exposed or rocky places on earth. These striking garden features provide perfect conditions for the plants native to these far-off places, bringing the cultivation of these precious gems within everybody’s reach. In this book, enthusiastic experts Kenton Seth and Paul Spriggs, bring us in-depth guidance on the design, construction, and planting of crevice gardens of all kinds including those suitable for containers, small gardens and public parks and in styles that encompass both naturalistic scenes and non-traditional installations. A wealth of international case studies demonstrate how crevice gardens provide multiple micro-habitats that are exceptionally well-suited to growing a wide range of desirable plants that struggle in normal garden conditions. Further examples reveal their value in the ecological re-use of waste materials such as concrete, wildlife habitat creation and for making permeable, plant-friendly alternatives to retaining walls. An illustrated A-Z that recommends 250 irresistible plants completes this comprehensive book which heralds a bold new chapter in the history of crevice garden making.

PUBLISHED BY FILBERT PRESS

PUBLICATION DATE – 21ST APRIL 2022

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon

Blackwell’s

MY REVIEW

This is one of those books that makes you want to rush out and create your own crevice garden!! The photographs alone are stunning and help paint the picture of just what it is to be a crevice garden, and alongside that the enthusiasm of the authors is infectious as they explore different aspects of this aspect of gardening.

This is a book packed full of photos, plants, history and ideas! I knew very little of crevice gardening, my only real knowledge is of rockery planting, but this a more broader range and a whole new level which is a better way for the plants – a way of working with them to suit their conditions than old ideas as it recreates their ideal habitat.

It looks into the geology alongside the extremes of the climates that these plants thrive in and it always amazes me that there are plants out there that survive in even the harshest of conditions! With this background information you really do understand a lot more about the plants and it’s made me want to learn more about these plants that can often be overlooked and not embraced into gardening schemes.

There are brilliant step by step hints and ideas to help you set up your own crevice garden, and you don’t even need a large area as they can be created in a pot. It sets you in the right direction of rocks to use, soil and, most importantly!, the plants to be used! What was even more helpful was the list of plants for specific situations which makes it really easy to pick and choose for your own needs!

A lot of American gardens are shown in some of the photos, but there are also photos from RHS Wisley, alongside gardens from Europe and it was really nice to see Crevice Gardening in action as it really gives you a good feel for the ‘art’ and I always like to see gardens that others have created.

This was a comprehensive and illuminating introduction to Crevice Gardening for me and I’m thankful to the authors for sharing their enthusiasm and knowledge and I look forward to using this book for my own crevice gardening plans in the future!

My thanks to Filbert Press for the copy in return for a fair and honest review.

★★★★★

#BookReview THE VIEW FROM FEDERAL TWIST by JAMES GOLDEN #nonfiction #FederalTwist #gardens #gardening

ABOUT THE BOOK

Federal Twist is set on a ridge above the Delaware River in western New Jersey. It is a naturalistic garden that has no utilitarian or leisure uses and the site is not an obvious choice for a garden (heavy clay soil, poorly drained: quick death for any plants not ecologically suited to it).

The physical garden, its plants and its features, is of course an appealing and pleasant place to be but Federal Twist’s real charm and significance lie in its intangible aspects: its changing qualities and views, the moods and emotions it evokes, and its distinctive character and sense of place.

This book charts the author’s journey in making such a garden. How he made a conscious decision not to improve the land, planted competitive plants into rough grass, experimented with sustainable plant communities. And how he worked with light to provoke certain moods and allowed the energy of the place, chance, and randomness to have its say.

Part experimental horticulturist and part philosopher, James Golden has written an important book for ecological gardeners and anyone interested in exploring the relationship between gardens, nature, and ourselves.

PUBLISHED BY FILBERT PRESS

PURCHASE LINK

BOOKSHOP.ORG

MY REVIEW

What a glorious garden!! And an equally glorious book that had me captivated by the photos and the insightful writing which really helps you understand the journey that the owner made with the garden and how he has transformed it under his ownership! And what a stunning job he has made of it too!

The garden is in New Jersey, USA and has some testing conditions to deal with, but he has taken his time and put in a lot of research to find the best plants to use in the situations – a lesson for us all! I really enjoyed seeing how he approached the garden in terms of design and planning and loved hearing about the history of the area and landscape. And considering he had no background in gardening, it was fascinating to read that he learnt as he went along!

It’s a truly ‘natural’ looking garden and the photos are spectacular in showing this aspect off. The garden has many ‘pauses’ in it, places where you can sit and take in your surroundings, and that’s what I found with this book too. It sets things out really nicely allowing the reader to ‘pause’ as they read and take in the photography, the plant names as a helpful guide and taking time to notice the changes over a year with different light and changes in the plants. It really is an immersive garden and one that makes you forget the outside world! Very much needed during these times!

This is one of those glorious books that gives me garden envy as I’d adore to have a garden as beautiful like this, but the photos and plant lists allow you to take little ideas to put into action in your own plot and I found it to be such a restful read that it was just a wonderful experience from start to finish!

★★★★★

#BookReview WINTER GARDENS:REINVENTING THE SEASON by CEDRIC POLLET #gardening #gardens

ABOUT THE BOOK

In this stunning reimagination of an entire season, acclaimed and award-winning author and photographer Cedric Pollet presents 20 of the most beautiful winter gardens accross France and the UK.

Winner of the Garden Media Guild – Garden Book of the Year award, Pollet showcases these breathtaking winter gardens which are at their best when most gardens are at their barest.

Rich with blazes of colour and light, these gardens use creative structural planning and subtle textures to greate masterful visual and sensory ensembles.

From berries and barks to vibrant shrubs and evergreens, these gardens will delight and inspire in equal measure, all captured in extroardinary photographs by Pollet, one of today’s masters of garden photography and accompanied by insightful text which picks out the reasons these gardens are so special.

The second half of the book is an illustrated directory of over 300 plants which encourage you to achieve these effects in their own gardens.

From the author of bestselling Bark: An Intimate Look at the World’s Trees, this beautiful guide is a unique and unmissable book on some of the most creative and inspiring gardens around today. 

PUBLISHED BY FRANCES LINCOLN

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon  £20

Blackwell’s £14.99

MY REVIEW

I now have Winter Garden envy thanks to this book! It’s a stunning collection of photographs across a a variety of gardens in France and the UK, showing just how wonderful a garden can look during the winter months, when most people think there’s nothing going on in gardens! Here’s a book that proves that wrong!

Alongside the beautiful photos, there’s wonderful text and useful information shared on the history of gardens and how they’ve evolved over the years and how more people are making an emphasis now on keeping the gardens looking good all year round. He looks in depth at the gardens that excel at this and if the photos don’t inspire you then there’s something wrong with you!

It looks at the plants that are often overlooked, and how during winter you rely more on structure and colour and goes into depth of various plants and trees and how they can be used to keep the interest going. I loved the lists of plants used and they are a really helpful guide for plant shopping as I’m definitely determined now to put more effort into my winter garden as this book has been a real inspiration and opened my eyes to a new way of using the garden all year round!

★★★★★

#BookReview PRACTICALLY PAGAN – An Alternative Guide to Gardening by Elen Sentier #Pagan #nonfiction

ABOUT THE BOOK

Practically Pagan – An Alternative Guide to Gardening takes the spooky out of alternative and keeps the magic. Elen Sentier brings together, and expands on, recent scientific discoveries, and shows how close they are to the old ways that were labelled as superstition in the 20th century. Sentier’s writing is accessible and opens up the down-to-earth practicalism of pagans as people of the land to all, for that’s what the word pagan means, ‘of the land’. Sentier doesn’t preach or proselytise folk to become pagan, but brings to light how you’ve been thinking this way for years. Elen Sentier is a best-selling author of British native shamanism. She also writes paranormal mystery-suspense novels. She’s a wilderness woman, born on Dartmoor and grew up on Exmoor in a family who had practiced the old British magic for hundreds of years. Her books include Pagan Portals – Merlin: Once and Future Wizard (Moon Books, 2016), and Gardening with the Moon & Stars (Moon Books, 2015)

PUBLISHED BY MOON BOOKS

PUBLICATION DATE – 29TH OCTOBER 2021

PRE-ORDER LINK

Amazon

MY REVIEW

I found this an enjoyable and fascinating way to find out more about pagans and a different way to approach gardening. The author uses her own experiences for taking you through each season – 8 seasons in the pagan calendar, not 4! – and sharing lists of different jobs to do at that time, along with plants looking their best or ready for planting at that time.

I really found the pagan side of the book enlightening and has now got me interested in finding out more about pagans as I found myself connecting with many of her ways! She explains about pagan holidays and celebrations, alongside meditations and rituals that you can easily follow.

But at the heart of the book is a year of gardening tips and hints, and learning more about the plants she uses in her garden that can also be used in cooking, rituals etc. I really liked her approach to the world and gardening – she let her garden evolve to suit her needs at different times instead of being very rigid with her planning and structure.

I like the mix of family anecdotes throughout, and am sure this book is best read in stages, especially to correlate with the time of the year it relates to, which will help you garden well. It looks at different flowers and vegetables for each season, along with meanings of them for medicinal purposes so I’ve learnt a little more about certain plants in my garden, and ones I want to add in the future!

★★★★

#BookReview ‘CHERRY’ INGRAM:THE ENGLISHMAN WHO SAVED JAPAN’S BLOSSOMS by NAOKO ABE #NonFiction

ABOUT THE BOOK

The irresistible story of Japanese cherry blossoms, threatened by political ideology and saved by an unknown Englishman

Collingwood Ingram, known as ‘Cherry’ for his defining obsession, was born in 1880 and lived until he was a hundred, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.

After visiting Japan in 1902 and 1907 and discovering two magnificent cherry trees in the garden of his family home in Kent in 1919, Ingram fell in love with cherry blossoms, or sakura, and dedicated much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.

On a 1926 trip to Japan to search for new specimens, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity, driven by modernisation, neglect and a dangerous and creeping ideology. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan’s expansionist ambitions.

The most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene, for Ingram, was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted.

Over decades, Ingram became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy. ‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.

PUBLISHED BY CHATTO WINDUS

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon

MY REVIEW

I found this to be a fascinating and intoxicating book about a man and how his passion for plants became and obsession, and shaped his life along with the landscapes of Japan and many other countries at the same time. It does help if you love gardening, I do!, to ‘get’ this book but it also contains a staggering look at the history of Japan and its’ people, and I found myself learning so much.

There’s so much to admire about Cherry Ingram. He was born in 1880 and soon became obsessed by plant hunting and gardening, with cherry blossom trees being his absolute passion. He had many trips to Japan to see and collect rare species, and over the years he saw and was shocked by the changes in Japan, to the detriment of his beloved cherry trees so he took it on himself to start sending trees from his garden that he’d collected back to Japan to begin their revival. The attention to detail shown by him towards his plants was staggering – it often seemed he cared more for his plants than his own children!

As it looks at the man in his home life, as well as his plant hunting life, it explores many avenues of the life he led, over so many years in a world that was constantly changing. Even during the war he was always willing to be involved and was part of the local community effort to protect these shores.

He led an amazing life, devoted to his wife, his trees and birdwatching too, and I just loved learning about him and how this englishman had affected the way even the Japanese viewed their trees and the impact it had on the local people. The author shares his own history too with his family, and their experiences especially during the war and it was just one of those books that was interesting from start to finish.

★★★★★

#BookReview DIARY OF A MODERN COUNTRY GARDENER by TAMSIN WESTHORPE #20BooksOfSummer

ABOUT THE BOOK

Written by a hard-working horticulturalist for fellow gardeners, the aim of this diary is to jog people’s memories, share plant stories, demystify gardening and most importantly make the reader smile. You’ll find a personal year-long diary of gardening along with favourite seasonal plants, timely reminders and entertaining tales of moving sheep, visiting RHS Chelsea Flower Show and speaking at garden clubs. Tamsin’s open garden is at the heart of a working farm, so her book reflects the twists and turns of the countryside. For anyone just about to embark on a life in the country, or whose town garden is never tidy and who wonders how the professionals do it, it’s a must read. Pick up tips on how to keep warm whilst gardening, get rid of chilblains and grow seasonal food from someone who lives, breathes and eats country gardening. 

PUBLISHED BY ORPHANS PUBLISHING

PURCHASE LINKS

Publisher Website – signed with free postage

Amazon

hive.co.uk

MY REVIEW

This was book 16 of my 20 Books of Summer 2020.

The gardener in me loved this! From the helpful pointers, the humour that had me chuckling out loud and just the general amiable writing style of the author made this such a pleasure to read! I think it’s a book that will appeal to a wide spectrum of garden lovers – from the novices to those who’ve gardened for a long time.

It also shows the amount of work required to open gardens to the public and her energy never seems to flag in wanting her garden at Stockton Bury to look at its’ best for every visitor! The book is written in a month by month style which I loved as it gives you an insight into what needs doing in your garden too throughout the year, as well as a very handy plant list for must haves each month which is really invaluable as I often find myself having a little lull in the garden at various times so I now know what to look out for!

With her experiences in the garden comes a wealth of knowledge that she passes on and I’ve taken note of a number of hints that I plan on using here! She is also not afraid to mention the failures she has along with the successes – it’s always good to know that every gardener has their problems no matter what size of garden they have.

I loved the gardening quirks that she comments on and found myself heartily agreeing with many of them, along with how a garden evokes childhood memories – plants that remind you of loved ones, things you learn from them and how you can feel connected to people just through a plant or using a garden tool that has been handed down.

And to top it all off there are many beautiful photos throughout that are just a delight to look at! This is going to be one of those books I keep going back to when I need a smile or a gardening hint each month! Highly recommended!

★★★★★

#BookReview THE GARDEN JUNGLE by DAVE GOULSON

ABOUT THE BOOK

**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**

The Garden Jungle is a wonderful introduction to the hundreds of small creatures with whom we live cheek-by-jowl and of the myriad ways that we can encourage them to thrive.

The Garden Jungle is about the wildlife that lives right under our noses, in our gardens and parks, between the gaps in the pavement, and in the soil beneath our feet. Wherever you are right now, the chances are that there are worms, woodlice, centipedes, flies, silverfish, wasps, beetles, mice, shrews and much, much more, quietly living within just a few paces of you.

Dave Goulson gives us an insight into the fascinating and sometimes weird lives of these creatures, taking us burrowing into the compost heap, digging under the lawn and diving into the garden pond. He explains how our lives and ultimately the fate of humankind are inextricably intertwined with that of earwigs, bees, lacewings and hoverflies, unappreciated heroes of the natural world.

The Garden Jungle is at times an immensely serious book, exploring the environmental harm inadvertently done by gardeners who buy intensively reared plants in disposable plastic pots, sprayed with pesticides and grown in peat cut from the ground. Goulson argues that gardens could become places where we can reconnect with nature and rediscover where food comes from. With just a few small changes, our gardens could become a vast network of tiny nature reserves, where humans and wildlife can thrive together in harmony rather than conflict.

For anyone who has a garden, and cares about our planet, this book is essential reading. 

PUBLISHED BY JONATHAN CAPE

OUT IN HARDBACK/EBOOK NOW

OUT IN PAPERBACK – 2ND APRIL 2020

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon

MY REVIEW

This is a book that will make you look at your garden differently! It doesn’t only focus on how it looks, but the goings on underneath the soil and the insects and wildlife that visits your little part of the earth daily, and as a keen gardener and fan of wildlife, I’m even more eager now to do more bit and take time out to notice the little things – and leave things a little more ‘wild’ to help do my bit!

This is a really relevant book for the times we are living in – and no more than now, with many people staying home due to the ‘lockdown’ and spending more time in their garden than they normally do! The only downside for me is that the people who need to read this the most are the ones who won’t pick this up as it’s not full of glossy photos, or quick fixes for a ‘low maintenance’ garden – the kind of people who revel in the throwaway society we find ourselves in, who want everything to be easy to look after and to keep all the creepy crawlies out! This books shows just how important all the wildlife is to the make-up of the garden, and doesn’t preach at you but explains things brilliantly and shows just how simple it can be to get the balance in the garden just right.

There are nods to using peat free compost, the benefits of being outdoors, the importance of allotments and growing your own, along with many other subjects such as the variety of animals that use our gardens daily, that shows that we can all do ‘our bit’ in a little way to help this planet of ours.

I really loved seeing a list of favourite plants he uses to attract different forms of wildlife, along with instructions on how to make your own wormery which has got me tempted to give it a go! I’ve learnt so much from this book and found it to be so informative and interesting, from a man who is clearly passionate about the subject he writes out! Highly recommended!

★★★★★

#BookReview The Bumblebee Flies Anyway; A year of gardening and wildlife by KATE BRADBURY @chiffchat

ABOUT THE BOOK

Finding herself in a new home in Brighton, Kate Bradbury sets about transforming her decked, barren backyard into a beautiful wildlife garden. She documents the unbuttoning of the earth and the rebirth of the garden, the rewilding of a tiny urban space. On her own she unscrews, saws, and hammers the decking away, she clears the builders’ rubble and rubbish beneath it, and she digs and enriches the soil, gradually planting it up with plants she knows will attract wildlife. She erects bird boxes and bee hotels, hangs feeders and grows nectar- and pollen-rich plants, and slowly brings life back to the garden.

But while she’s doing this her neighbors continue to pave and deck their gardens. The wildlife she tries to save is further threatened, and she feels she’s fighting an uphill battle. Is there any point in gardening for wildlife when everyone else is drowning the land in poison and cement?

Throughout her story, Kate draws on an eclectic and eccentric cast of friends and colleagues, who donate plants and a greenhouse, tolerate her gawping at butterflies at Gay Pride, and accompany her on trips to visit rare bumblebees and nightingales.

Published by Bloomsbury Wildlife

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon UK
 hive.co.uk

whsmith

MY REVIEW

What a wonderful little book! As a keen gardener and wildlife lover, I’m probably the target audience I’m sure for a book written by someone who looks on their garden as more than an ‘outdoor living room’ or as a space to be ignored or paved over as is the trend nowadays, but this gem of a book perfectly explains just how important a little green space is to the owner and to the wildlife of the local area. From a tiny bee moving into a bee hotel, to the flock of sparrows enjoying the safety of a buddleia bush, this book left me itching to get even more involved with my garden and to do more to attract more wildlife.

Her memories of gardens she has spent time in over the years, especially with her family, are wonderfully told and had me remembering special times I have spent with grandparents and my parents who thankfully have always been fans of green spaces.

As a passionate amateur garden I totally ‘got’ this book – it understands just how you feel about your little patch of the world and the despair you feel when you see trees and shrubs being destroyed in the neighbourhood and surrounding areas. Through gardening it allows you to look back fondly at times spent out there, but also has you looking forward in ways you can help to attract more bees, birds and bugs to your garden. I recently saw this author present a piece on Gardeners World and her enthusiasm for bees especially had me wanting to rush out and buy a bee hotel or two, and that enthusiasm is clear for all to see in this book.

She looks back on tough times too, especially with her mother becoming unwell, and shows the importance of a garden on helping them both cope during that time. It’s a great distraction to sit out there with a cup of tea and toast and just to watch and see what is going on and let your mind wander!

It’s also fascinating to read the impact of humans are having on the ways of wildlife – habitats being destroyed and species disappearing and has just made me more determined to do my little bit, and hopefully it will encourage new gardeners to do the same and make people realise that whether they have a windowbox or a garden, there are things that can be done to help native wildlife.

I adored this book and highly recommend it as a memoir and as a book full of ideas and inspiration to help us all do our bit!

★★★★★

#BookReview The Botanist’s Daughter by Kayte Nunn

ABOUT THE BOOK

Discovery. Desire. Deception. A wondrously imagined tale of two female botanists, separated by more than a century, in a race to discover a life-saving flower . . .

In Victorian England, headstrong adventuress Elizabeth takes up her late father’s quest for a rare, miraculous plant. She faces a perilous sea voyage, unforeseen dangers and treachery that threatens her entire family.

In present-day Australia, Anna finds a mysterious metal box containing a sketchbook of dazzling watercolours, a photograph inscribed ‘Spring 1886’ and a small bag of seeds. It sets her on a path far from her safe, carefully ordered life, and on a journey that will force her to face her own demons.

In this spellbinding botanical odyssey of discovery, desire and deception, Kayte Nunn has so exquisitely researched nineteenth-century Cornwall and Chile you can almost smell the fragrance of the flowers, the touch of the flora on your fingertips . . .

Published by Hachette

PURCHASE LINKS

hive.co.uk  £7.89

whsmith  £8.72

Bert’s Books  £8.99

MY REVIEW

An historical, dual time-line story about gardening and romance?! Yes please!! And I loved every minute of it and has made me want to set off on my own plant hunting adventures – but maybe with less danger involved!!

In the present timeline, Anna is a gardener who is currently overseeing the renovation of her beloved grandmothers’s house that she has been left, and when the builder start knocking walls down they uncover a box hidden in the walls. Anna and her family know nothing about this box and when she discovers what is inside she is intrigued to discover more.

Back in 1886, Elizabeth Trebithick is living at Trebithick Hall with her beloved father and sister. She has inherited her fathers’ need for exploring – he’s a plant hunter and is often away -and she wishes she could escape too. He shares his dreams with her of plants he aims to find and makes her promise him that she’ll carry on his work for him. She’s not one to be stopped and kept at home, as was expected of women back then, so she soon sets off with her maid to the other side of the world to hunt out a very rare and dangerous plant. Being seasick isn’t the best start for her journey though!

The 2 timelines work brilliantly with one another – as Anna delves further into the origin of the paintings she finds, along with reading the diary that was also hidden away she is drawn into the need to explore and finds herself travelling to Cornwall to see what more she can find out about this family she knows little about. 

And as Elizabeth settles into her new life, her head is soon turned by a local guide who seems to share her interest and passion for plants, but with a rival plant hunter also on the scene, she is unsure whether she can trust her guide with the real reason she is out there, other than painting the different plants she sees.

I loved the characters in both timelines of this book – both women weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty and do whatever became necessary to achieve their tasks! Be it uncovering a rare plant, or putting the pieces together in a mystery puzzle and discovering who hid the box in a wall and why. It really gave a great insight into just how precarious plant hunting was, but so rewarding when a new plant was found, or local knowledge helped you learn something new about a plant.

Really enjoyable and easy to read and I’ll definitely be reading more from this author in the future!

💮💮💮💮