Gorgeius Gossip in a Garden
595436
When I stumbled upon this novel, I was interested in a story about the Garden of Allah. I grew up in a Hollywood Golden Era family and had been told stories about the Garden much of my life. I'd also had family members who frequented the underground of Hollywood described in this book. The Garden of Allah is a wonderful backdrop for the central characters. However, it does remain a backdrop and that was disappointing. I found the author very skillful in keeping his plot lines taut and his timing in revealing information excellent. One thing that did concern me is the liberty he took with historical characters and he doesn't offer readers  insights into his research in that respect as many authors of historical fiction do. In the end, I felt that his sources were Hollywood Babylon and other spurious collections of gossip. He did engage me enough with his characters that I am willing to give the next book a try.
4277830
The ANTics is a an outstanding story with adventures of three ants, living in a garden with other crawly insects. They not only interact with insects of the garden but people (two legs) they call them.

Insects threaten them in the garden. Two legs threaten them crossing the patio the "Forbidden QuadrAnt." The story is fun to read. The story has a lot of energy, I found my self oohing and awing at times because of the excitement unfolding.

The book is written very descriptive, if pictures were added it would add to the effect.
1526609
The book is part of a series that is about a gardener and a mystery.  It would be a great book for a garden enthusiast and mystery lover. It had some interesting plot twists.  I am reviewing this book for Random House.  I received a copy of the book for free.  My review is my honest opinion.
243858
"Every couple of months, Crowley would pick out a plant that was growing too slowly, or succumbing to leaf-wilt or browning, or just didn't look quite as good as the others, and he would carry it around to all the other plants. 'Say goodbye to your friend,' he'd say to them. 'He just couldn't cut it. . . '

Then he would leave the flat with the offending plant, and return an hour or so later with a large, empty flower pot, which he would leave somewhere conspicuously around the flat.

The plants were the most luxurious, verdant, and beautiful in London. Also the most terrified."

This book is exactly what you would expect from Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett writing a parody fanfic of the Book of Revelation. It is hilarious throughout, and the musings on human nature and morality spread throughout, though said in jest, can be quite thought provoking. The random tangents that the authors go on while telling the story would themselves be worthy of a separate book, and it is, overall, one of the most quotable books I have ever read (along with, appropriately, a few written by Chesterton).

I highly recommend it to any fan of fantasy, or to any fan of either of the two authors involved.
3795993
A surprising and beautiful tour book of 60 Oregon, Washington and Vancouver BC public gardens.  I found the conversational style to be interesting and very informative.  Equally at home on the coffee table or easily fitting in the glove box of my car, the book is truly a tour book, but with luscious photos.  I have discovered at least three or four gardens right here in my own Portland, Oregon backyard that I never knew existed!  I will be surprising my gardening friends here in the Northwest in December with a copy!
654033
Ovid, maybe the greatest Roman poet of the Augustan period, was famous not only for his "Metamorphoses" but also his works on the art of love. It was these works which dragged him into scandal and censorship of his works. Yes, as long as there has been authority, authority has been afraid of rebels.  For his scandalous works and perhaps for some political reasons Ovid was exiled to the ends of the empire, the equivalent of Siberia to the Romans. He would live out the rest of his days away from everything and everyone he had ever known.  This work tries to chronicle his thoughts and actions in those last years in the village of Tomia on the Black Sea. Ovid only has the memories of his past to give him consolation in his loneliness. In particular, he has memories of encounters with a wild boy raised by wolves that he last saw as a young boy. During a hunt with the villagers he sees what he believes to be this very same wild boy. He convinces the village headman to capture the boy and Ovid sets about trying to civilize the Child into what he believes to be humanity. Ironically, it is Ovid who finds himself being educated. This is a short and beautiful book. Its transcendent message of casting off the past and finding your destiny is one very relevant to our age. We have lost touch with primal nature.
3372383
It was a nice prank to play on the neighbor. And it took them a couple days to find them scattered throughout their garden.
3652758
Cursing the Basil and other Folklore of the Garden. Vivian A. Rich
At last! Something useful to do with the anger and frustration of rush hour! Go into your garden and curse the basil - it will help it to grow better. The author has done a great deal of research into the history of plants and their uses. Concerned, as many of us are, that the technology of the modern age will crowd out the long rich history of plants, she sets out to preserve the memories of the symbolism and significance of plants to people of earlier times.
This book is a gift to anyone interested in ethno-botany. It takes a thorough look at how our ancestors have used plants since the earliest days. The author has divided the book into four parts, featuring spells and rituals, traditional foods, hygiene and medicine, mythology religion and superstition, and trade and politics. There are end notes and an extensive bibliography.
The section about trade and politics surprised me at first but there is much to learn about the commerce of plants, from the ancient trade with Asia for spices through to tulipmania and its present day offspring the huge flower auction at Aalsmeer in Holland which covers over 333 acres. Nor did I know that an official Herb Woman attended British Coronations until 1821. By the time the following coronation rolled around the position had been eliminated due to budget restrictions.
A few more illustrations might have been nice, but all in all, you can't beat Cursing the Basil for its wealth of information and straightforward approach to a vast topic.
3712999
The author, Mathew Tekulsky, is enthusiastic about hummingbirds, and his enthusiasm comes through in his word pistures of these little butterflies of the bird world whose wings beat so fast that they are invisible, like the blades of an airplane propeller.

Let Mathew tell you how to attract them to your garden!  The book is devoted single-mindedly to hummingbirds, how to make them welcome in your garden, and how to cultivate the flowers and other plants that will bring them in and grace your garden with the beautiful little creatures.

This is a wonderful book for your horticultural library, as well as a great source of information on hummingbirds.

Joseph Pierre
2348664
I expected this book to be filled with racy details of various royal affairs throughout history, but this book also includes some scandalous non-sexual gossip that literally left me speechless! Lady Castlemaine's desecration of the fourteenth-century Bishop of London's remains, King Pedro of Portugal digging up his dead mistress and crowning her corpse queen, Madame de Montespan slipping potions containing dead babies blood into King Louis XIV's drink are just some of the many shocking pieces of gossip that make thing book one fascinating read!

Although the book contained some of the juicest historical gossip I have ever read, the lack of structure made the book hard to read at times. One minute the author is discussing Charles II and Lady Castlemaine and then she switches kings, countries, and even centuries! This jumping back and forth from century to century and country to country was a bit distracting. The book also concentrates mostly on Lady Castlemaine, Madame de Montespan, and Madame de Pompadour. There are other royal mistresses discussed, but the author always came back to these three mistresses throughout the book.

If this book was better organized, I might have given it 5 stars. I still highly recommend it for any looking for their historical gossip fix. Beware, the writing is all over the place. If you like your books to follow a certain pattern you won't be happy with Sex with Kings. Organization aside, I highly enjoyed this book. Eleanor Herman successfully illustrated the precarious and sometimes unenviable position royal mistresses held.
4560155
i was so excited to get this plant! it looks gorgeous and the soil was moist and dense. however, there were a couple bugs crawling in the soil, so i put it outside.
4541066
Sent this to a friend for his birthday. He has a garden and really hated me for making him put this in it, but it makes a statement and all his neighbors love it.
4802927
Lot's of information especially for rock gardens which are perfect for our area.  Would have liked more drawings - they are beautiful.  Robert also makes you laugh and not take your garden so seriously.
665140
This time of year is when I usually plan my garden for the coming spring and summer. Rather than turn to Western Sunset, I thought I'd thumb through Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart for inspiration, er, for what not to plant.

If you ever want to take a peaceful walk in a garden or hike on a nature trail again, perhaps this isn't the book for you 'cause it freaked me out. Just a little.

With section titles like "Lawn of Death" and "Weeds of Mass Destruction" to clue you in, Amy Stewart doesn't just cover exotic poisonous plants like curare and the strychnine tree, but more common "botanical atrocities" growing in your garden at this very moment or in your house. These wicked plants range from illegal, intoxicating ones like cannabis and the opium poppy, to the destructive like killer algae and kudzu, to the deadly - poison hemlock, oleander, and deadly nightshade.

Did you know that corn can lead to dementia, diarrhea, and even death if eaten by itself and makes up most of your diet? Or that raw cashew nuts, which are part of the same family as poison ivy, poison, sumac, and poison oak, when consumed will give you a rash? Or that the potato is part of the nightshade family and if exposed to the light for too long could kill you?

My favorite is the section called "Social Misfits" with the pyromaniac plants, "stinkers," and plain "just disgusting." Yeah!

"You can garden for years without ever suffering the ill effects of a plant like monkshood, whose cheerful blue flowers conceal a toxin that brings on death by asphyxiation. You can hike for miles and never encounter the coyotillo shrub, whose berries cause a slow but deadly paralysis. But someday the plant kingdom's dark side may make itself known to you. When it does, you should be prepared."
4057875
A beautiful piece to add to my garden, I would recommend to all before they attempt to put together to buy the grease (not included) so it can spin properly
3350326
Thoughtful imagining of the first performance of Beethoven's Eroica symphony under the shadow of Napoleon's growing dominance, including its aristocratic patrons and guests as they talk and gossip between movements and even arrive late. It clearly shows the tremendous effort and frustration is generally involved in giving a new work of art to the world particularly those that require a number of other artists to 'symphony'-- Greek for 'agree'. Not to mention Beethoven's own yearning to be united with his lady-love.
2093779
Gardener Pru and Chris, her new policeman husband, are at Greatoaks for a year, thanks to friends who will be gone on an archaeology dig. Pru's long-lost brother Simon has been the gardener there for 40 years.
The Skeleton Garden is one in the Potting Shed mysteries, and it's a little hard to keep the characters straight at first; that's the only problem with continuity.
Lots of these type of mysteries are completely plot driven. However in The Skeleton Garden, I liked the subplots and backstories: the WWII Nazi plane buried in the garden, complete with a skeleton; the semi-neglected nephew, the loyal woman whose soldier lover disappeared leaving her with a baby on the way; the conflict between Simon and Pru.
The pretty cover is way to cute for the book though. It makes the book like a much shallower book is inside.
This is an enjoyable book that I read through Netgalley.