The Story of Flowers And How They Changed the Way We Live

About this book

Throughout history flowers have been an integral part of human survival and culture – as food, for medicine, to express feelings, as symbols, to commemorate and celebrate, and to decorate. Their shapes, colours, scents and textures have always attracted us, as they do animals and insects. Flowers are used as luxury spices (saffron), and as colouring and flavouring agents – marigolds fed to chickens make eggs more yellow and lavender was Elizabeth I's favourite flavour of jam. Flowers are full of symbolic meaning: violets represent modesty, daises purity and daffodils unrequited love. And they have always played an important role in culture through myths and legends, literature and the decorative arts. This delightful new book brings together 100 of the world's flowers to tell their remarkable stories. Each flower is richly illustrated in colour and accompanied by facts about each species and what role it has played in our culture and history.

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Biography

Dr Noël Kingsbury is an internationally known writer on horticulture and has contributed to The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The New York Times. His many books include Natural Garden Style (2009), Daffodil: The Remarkable Story of the World's Most Popular Spring Flower (2013) and Garden Flora (2016).