Jennifer Potter (1)

Objective review: An incredibly well-researched if rather verbose account of the role 7 different flowers played throughout history in art, literature, medicine, and society. Colour plates are included in two sections with b/w illustrations throughout, and a "Main Sources and Selected Bibliography" section at the back appears very thorough, although it mentions that the full bibliography is available on-line.

Subjective review: This is not the book I was hoping for; I think I might have been looking for something more oriented towards botany/science or even economics. The author's writing style bogged me down to such an extent that I could read entire paragraphs and not really be able to tell anyone what they actually said, making this a book a piece of work for me rather than the joy I expected. Admittedly, I found myself almost completely disinterested in the role any of these flowers played in ancient art and mythology and there's a lot of that here as well.

Why did I keep going? Because the tulip and the orchid - the two flowers I cared most about - were the last two chapters of the damn book. Because I actually did learn something about each flower that I not only didn't know but would have argued against previously. For example, I did not know people ate lily bulbs; having had cats all my life and hearing how deadly they are to them, I would have guessed eating them wouldn't have done humans any great favours either. Same for tulips. So. Something learned.

As I've mentioned before in other posts, my mother was a florist for 40 years, and my father was an orchid breeder, so I really wanted to like this book. I did find the orchid chapter the most interesting - but I suspect that has as much to do with its lack of ancient history as anything the author actually had to say. I know firsthand how difficult - almost impossible - it is to breed and cultivate orchids. I can't do it at all; I might as well have a black hooded robe and scythe as try to grow any orchid myself. My father, having named one of his registered crosses after me, took a photo of it, framed it and gave it to me, telling me (with love, of course) that the photo is probably as close I should ever try to get to the real thing. So, I would have liked to have read more about that side of orchids. The author does end the book with a quote from Reginald Farrer, that almost perfectly captures my dad's love for the plant though:

"In that instant I understood Romeo and Juliet better than I ever had before. But my doom was sealed; as cruel engines drawing first one's coat-tail, and then by degrees the whole body, so the Orchids have now enveloped me densely in their web. I am engulfed in Orchids and their dreadful bills; nor do I see the slightest chance of ever tasting solvency or peace again."

Luckily, dad found a lot of peace in orchids, if not exactly solvency.… (plus d'informations)

Il mese della rosa
Sta per finire questo mese di maggio, un altro mese dedicato alle rose. Il mese delle rose. Un fiore sul quale gli uomini proiettano i loro sogni, il loro io emotivo, spirituale e sessuale. Nasce da sempre, e si rinnova di anno in anno, il racconto di questo fiore che ha dentro di se qualcosa di magico. La rosa venne creata da Dio per dar vita al simbolismo, alla metafora, alle allusioni. La rosa non è un fiore, ma tanti fiori, in tante forme e colori. Petali a cinque a cinque che fioriscono intorno a delle spine. Una delizia alla vista, al profumo, al tatto e perfino al gusto. Manca soltanto la musica a questo fiore quanto mai misterioso che per millenni ha catturato la fantasia degli esseri umani. Rose che sono diventate versi, musica, colori, immagini nella storia dell’arte, della fotografia e del cinema, della moda e dello stile. Un fiore che nel corso della sua storia millenaria ha subito trasformazioni e metamorfosi. Da semplice fiore selvaggio si è trasformato in fiore sofisticato da laboratorio.
La storia di questo fiore è narrata in uno straordinario e raffinato libro appena pubblicato in lingua inglese che è una gioia tenere tra le mani, sfogliare le sue pagine in cerca della rosa più bella e profumata. Una gioia ed un piacere al tatto ed alla vista quando il lettore che ama questo fiore scopre che da queste pagine si sprigiona un senso di gloriose memorie. Quando si scopre che come simbolo sacro e simbolo di femminilità, la rosa unisce Venere e la Vergine Maria, il sangue di Cristo e il sudore di Maometto, il sacro e il profano, la vita e la morte, la rosa bianca della castità e la rosa rossa del compimento. Un fiore che manifesta il suo potere e la sua presenza in tutte le società umane.
La rosa viaggia dal tempo degli antichi greci e dell’impero romano verso l’Europa, il Medio oriente, l’Asia e le Americhe per far conoscere la sua evoluzione da semplice fiore di selva dell’emisfero nord fino alla sua massima perfezione raggiunta nei giardini di oggi diventati laboratori di esperienze celesti. Fiore sessuale e letterario, affiliato alle società segrete e legato alla Terra Santa, la Rosa si conferma regina dei fiori e della natura in questo splendido libro appena pubblicato lingua inglese. L’autrice Helen Castor è una scrittrice e docente inglese esperta del settore.… (plus d'informations)

This is one of those nonfiction books that I think writers should really pick up and read. It covers so many topics, so many time periods, and you're bound to find your writing informed by it. The chapter on the Prophet's rose and the language of flowers were two of my favorites. I found it well organized, and while at times a little dry, the lush illustrations often made up for it. I also managed to annoy my entire family going on and on about roses when we went to this garden in Texas. Cabbage rose this, ditched in China that, blah blah nightingales.… (plus d'informations)