Consider “The Intimate Garden” for very detailed examples of highly individualized garden spaces, with an emphasis on hardscape and ornaments. While both author Brian Coleman and photographer William Wright are from Seattle and the gardens are mostly on the west coast, examples from the east coast and even England are included, making this a very diverse selection of design styles and plant material.
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.
Valerie Easton’s “Petal & Twig”, tells how to find a source of material for flower arranging in your own garden. If–like me–you’ve ever struggled with getting your home arrangements just right, Easton will loosen you up and give you permission to just go for it, and open your eyes to more possibilities than you ever imagined a few feet from your back door. “After all, you’re crafting performance art that changes hour by hour, day by day, as buds open, petals drop, and flowers droop. Imperfection engages us in the creative process.”
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.
“When Debra and David began interviewing and photographing people who grow and arrange fresh, seasonal flowers for local markets, I knew they were documenting a new movement…you could call it the slow flower movement.” This quote, by Amy Stewart from the Foreword of “The 50 Mile Bouquet,” well summarizes this forward-looking book by Debra Prinzing and David Perry, which leaves you with a wider perspective and appreciation of fresh cut flowers and other greenery. This is in sharp contrast to the international florist industry, making Stewart’s 2007 book about that industry, “Flower Confidential,” a good companion reading (Stewart–who lives in Eureka, California–almost qualifies as a local author).
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.
When first picking up the fascinating Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies, I expected lots of lovely close-up photographs of our native butterflies. While I wasn’t disappointed, the majority of the photos are of the early stages of their life histories, i.e., lots of caterpillars! The thoroughness for depicting each species is outstanding with typically five or more photos of the different larval stages. How did authors David James and David Nunnallee do it? By rearing the butterflies from eggs and photographing each stage of their development.
Robert Michael Pyle wrote the Foreword and he best describes the enormous scale of this work: “…this book is the apex of life history treatments to date. In the whole world, no other comparable region enjoys a work of this scale, ambit, and acuity for its butterfly fauna”.
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.
Wild in the City is an invaluable guide for an exploration of the parks and trails in the Portland metropolitan area, but it’s quite readable even if you’re stuck somewhere else. Scattered amongst the trail maps and descriptions of various sites and walks are essays about wildlife, history–both natural and human–and the complexities of disturbed ecosystems, with a good dose of philosophy on the value of having nature in an urban setting. Over one hundred writers and illustrators have contributed to this fine work.
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.
Nonnative Invasive Plants of Pacific Coast Forests is an unusual field guide that helps to identify plants you don’t want to find–but you probably will–especially in the forests of Washington, Oregon, and California. In various ways, these plants are negatively affecting our native plants, animals, and ecosystems. The intent of the authors is to make these recognizable to a larger audience beyond highly trained botanists. Many selections, such as purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and herb-robert (Geranium robertianum), are all too familiar to gardeners and visitors to the Arboretum. Others will be less familiar, or you might not know they are a problem, such as some of our popular cotoneasters (Cotoneaster franchetii and C. lacteus).
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.
Many of the over 7,000 vascular plant species of California described in The Jepson Manual can also be found in the Pacific Northwest.
The name perhaps needs clarification. Willis Linn Jepson was an early 20th century botanist who published several books on California flora, including the first that was both comprehensive and statewide for vascular plants (“A Manual of the Flowering Plants of California”–1925). The 1993 first edition of “The Jepson Manual” honored his memory, and this new edition continues that honor while incorporating new discoveries and the many changes in botanical systematics of the last twenty years.
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.
Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory is one of the best examples I’ve seen of a book capturing the spirit of a public garden. Photographer Sara L. Chapman has created monthly visual essays, using both close-ups and panoramas to bring you into the page and remind you of a real life visit. But this is more than just a picture book. The subjects of the photos are carefully captioned, making this a useful identification handbook to conservatory plants.
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.
Four Seasons on Bainbridge Island is a photo essay by Paul Brians celebrating the flora of the island, some from his own garden, and accented with a few shots of people, animals, and landscapes. Highly recommended for residents of Bainbridge, this book also captures the essence of semi-rural, island living anywhere around Puget Sound.
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.
Photos of the Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA) can be found in “Seasons of Life in the Union Bay Sanctuary” by Marilyn Smith Layton. This photo essay includes not only birdlife, but also landscapes, flowers, trees, and the people who come to observe it all.
Excerpted from the Fall 2012 Arboretum Bulletin.