The Flower of Empire

The Flower of Empire PDF Author: Tatiana Holway
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199911169
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
In 1837, while charting the Amazonian country of Guiana for Great Britain, German naturalist Robert Schomburgk discovered an astounding "vegetable wonder"--a huge water lily whose leaves were five or six feet across and whose flowers were dazzlingly white. In England, a horticultural nation with a mania for gardens and flowers, news of the discovery sparked a race to bring a live specimen back, and to bring it to bloom. In this extraordinary plant, named Victoria regia for the newly crowned queen, the flower-obsessed British had found their beau ideal. In The Flower of Empire, Tatiana Holway tells the story of this magnificent lily, revealing how it touched nearly every aspect of Victorian life, art, and culture. Holway's colorful narrative captures the sensation stirred by Victoria regia in England, particularly the intense race among prominent Britons to be the first to coax the flower to bloom. We meet the great botanists of the age, from the legendary Sir Joseph Banks, to Sir William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, to the extravagant flower collector the Duke of Devonshire. Perhaps most important was the Duke's remarkable gardener, Joseph Paxton, who rose from garden boy to knight, and whose design of a series of ever-more astonishing glass-houses--one, the Big Stove, had a footprint the size of Grand Central Station--culminated in his design of the architectural wonder of the age, the Crystal Palace. Fittingly, Paxton based his design on a glass-house he had recently built to house Victoria regia. Indeed, the natural ribbing of the lily's leaf inspired the pattern of girders supporting the massive iron-and-glass building. From alligator-laden jungle ponds to the heights of Victorian society, The Flower of Empire unfolds the marvelous odyssey of this wonder of nature in a revealing work of cultural history.

The Flower of Empire

The Flower of Empire PDF Author: Tatiana Holway
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199911169
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 339

Get Book Here

Book Description
In 1837, while charting the Amazonian country of Guiana for Great Britain, German naturalist Robert Schomburgk discovered an astounding "vegetable wonder"--a huge water lily whose leaves were five or six feet across and whose flowers were dazzlingly white. In England, a horticultural nation with a mania for gardens and flowers, news of the discovery sparked a race to bring a live specimen back, and to bring it to bloom. In this extraordinary plant, named Victoria regia for the newly crowned queen, the flower-obsessed British had found their beau ideal. In The Flower of Empire, Tatiana Holway tells the story of this magnificent lily, revealing how it touched nearly every aspect of Victorian life, art, and culture. Holway's colorful narrative captures the sensation stirred by Victoria regia in England, particularly the intense race among prominent Britons to be the first to coax the flower to bloom. We meet the great botanists of the age, from the legendary Sir Joseph Banks, to Sir William Jackson Hooker, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, to the extravagant flower collector the Duke of Devonshire. Perhaps most important was the Duke's remarkable gardener, Joseph Paxton, who rose from garden boy to knight, and whose design of a series of ever-more astonishing glass-houses--one, the Big Stove, had a footprint the size of Grand Central Station--culminated in his design of the architectural wonder of the age, the Crystal Palace. Fittingly, Paxton based his design on a glass-house he had recently built to house Victoria regia. Indeed, the natural ribbing of the lily's leaf inspired the pattern of girders supporting the massive iron-and-glass building. From alligator-laden jungle ponds to the heights of Victorian society, The Flower of Empire unfolds the marvelous odyssey of this wonder of nature in a revealing work of cultural history.

Chateau of Flowers

Chateau of Flowers PDF Author: Margaret Rome
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780708923405
Category : Large type books
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Fleur had married Alain Comte de Treville, because she loved him, not because he was blind and she felt sorry for him, or because she cared only for his money and his title, as he suspected.

Lilies

Lilies PDF Author: Naomi Slade
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
ISBN: 9781423656821
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Gracing the grounds from mid-spring until late autumn, lilies are dramatic and striking. The beautifully presented reference guide features more than 50 well-loved and unusual varieties of lily. Find out how to care for your lilies, with practical tips for all kinds of gardens, containers and balconies.

In Defense of Plants

In Defense of Plants PDF Author: Matt Candeias
Publisher: Mango Media Inc.
ISBN: 1642504548
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
The Study of Plants in a Whole New Light “Matt Candeias succeeds in evoking the wonder of plants with wit and wisdom.” ―James T. Costa, PhD, executive director, Highlands Biological Station and author of Darwin's Backyard #1 New Release in Nature & Ecology, Plants, Botany, Horticulture, Trees, Biological Sciences, and Nature Writing & Essays In his debut book, internationally-recognized blogger and podcaster Matt Candeias celebrates the nature of plants and the extraordinary world of plant organisms. A botanist’s defense. Since his early days of plant restoration, this amateur plant scientist has been enchanted with flora and the greater environmental ecology of the planet. Now, he looks at the study of plants through the lens of his ever-growing houseplant collection. Using gardening, houseplants, and examples of plants around you, In Defense of Plants changes your relationship with the world from the comfort of your windowsill. The ruthless, horny, and wonderful nature of plants. Understand how plants evolve and live on Earth with a never-before-seen look into their daily drama. Inside, Candeias explores the incredible ways plants live, fight, have sex, and conquer new territory. Whether a blossoming botanist or a professional plant scientist, In Defense of Plants is for anyone who sees plants as more than just static backdrops to more charismatic life forms. In this easily accessible introduction to the incredible world of plants, you’ll find: • Fantastic botanical histories and plant symbolism • Passionate stories of flora diversity and scientific names of plant organisms • Personal tales of plantsman discovery through the study of plants If you enjoyed books like The Botany of Desire, What a Plant Knows, or The Soul of an Octopus, then you’ll love In Defense of Plants.

Chinese Brush Painting

Chinese Brush Painting PDF Author: Ning Yeh
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780961830588
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
A second addition, also known as Ning Yeh's "Gold Edition" updates his original guide of step-by-step instructions for Chinese Brush Painting.

Lily in Full Bloom

Lily in Full Bloom PDF Author: Laura Driscoll
Publisher: RH/Disney
ISBN: 0736426086
Category : Fairies
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
This blooming good story is the 18th book in our popular Disney Fairies chapter book series, which features Tinker Bell's adventures in Never Land with her fairy friends. Lily has always thought of herself as a garden-talent fairy first and foremost. But after Tink challenges the other talents to think up new ideas, Lily discovers she's pretty good at inventing things, too, like her new flowers, the panglories. They grow anywhere--in dirt, on wood, even on rocks! But then little gray spots pop up, first on the panglories, then on other flowers, until all the plants in Pixie Hollow start losing their colors. Can Lily invent a way out of this new fix?

What Lily Gets from Bee

What Lily Gets from Bee PDF Author: Ellen Lawrence
Publisher: Bearport Publishing
ISBN: 1617726281
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description
What is happening when we see a honeybee covered with yellow dust busily buzzing from flower to flower? How exactly is the little bee helping the flowers in a garden? This book explores how plants reproduce, and features a clear, accessible, step-by-step explanation of how insects and other animals pollinate flowers. Packed with information perfectly suited to the abilities and interests of an early elementary audience, this colorful volume gives readers a chance not only to learn, but also to develop their powers of observation and critical thinking. From stunning photographs to high-interest facts about plants and their pollinators, What Lily Gets from Bee: And Other Pollination Facts makes learning about plant reproduction a lively, engaging experience.

Flower That Wouldnt Grow

Flower That Wouldnt Grow PDF Author: Victoria Anne DAnna
Publisher: Nightingale Books
ISBN: 9781838751333
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Book Description


It Ends with Us

It Ends with Us PDF Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Pocket Books
ISBN: 1982143657
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
In this “brave and heartbreaking novel that digs its claws into you and doesn’t let go, long after you’ve finished it” (Anna Todd, New York Times bestselling author) from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All Your Perfects, a workaholic with a too-good-to-be-true romance can’t stop thinking about her first love. Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. And when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life seems too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened. An honest, evocative, and tender novel, It Ends with Us is “a glorious and touching read, a forever keeper. The kind of book that gets handed down” (USA TODAY).

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan PDF Author: Lisa See
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408821621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Lily is the daughter of a humble farmer, and to her family she is just another expensive mouth to feed. Then the local matchmaker delivers startling news: if Lily's feet are bound properly, they will be flawless. In nineteenth-century China, where a woman's eligibility is judged by the shape and size of her feet, this is extraordinary good luck. Lily now has the power to make a good marriage and change the fortunes of her family. To prepare for her new life, she must undergo the agonies of footbinding, learn nu shu, the famed secret women's writing, and make a very special friend, Snow Flower. But a bitter reversal of fortune is about to change everything.