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Little Book Of Latin For Gardeners
How did the delphinium get its name? Which parts of the body lend their names to auriculas and orchids? Who are the gentian, lobelia and heuchera named after? Why are nasturtiums and antirrhinums connected? What does an everlasting pea have to do with Indian miniature paintings?
These are some of the questions answered in Peter Parker's adventurous exploration of the mysteries of Botanical Latin.
Evolved over many centuries and often thought to belong to the rarefied world of scholars and scientists, this invented language is in fact a very useful tool for everyday gardening. It allows us to find our way around nurseries; it sorts out confusions when two plants have the same English name; and it gives us all kinds of information about how big or small a plant will grow, what shape or colour it will develop, and what habitat it prefers.
In his lively survey, Parker agues that Botanical Latin is not merely useful, but fun. The naming of plants draws upon geography, social and medical history, folklore, mythology, language, literature, the human body, the animal kingdom and all manner of ancient beliefs and superstitions.
The book, beautifully illustrated with old woodcuts, explains how and why plants have been named, includes handy lists of identifying adjectives, and takes the reader down some of the stranger byways of human endeavour and eccentricity.
- GenresGardeningNonfiction
176 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2018
9 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Peter Parker
10 books14 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Peter Parker (1954-) was born in Herefordshire and educated in the Malverns, Dorset and London. He is the author of The Old Lie: The Great War and Public-School Ethos and biographies of J.R. Ackerley and Christopher Isherwood. He edited the Reader’s Companion to the Twentieth-Century Novel and The Reader’s Companion to Twentieth Century Writers, and was an associate editor of The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He writes about books and gardening for a wide variety of newspapers and magazines and lives in London’s East End.
Peter Parker (1954-) was born in Herefordshire and educated in the Malverns, Dorset and London. He is the author of The Old Lie: The Great War and Public-School Ethos and biographies of J.R. Ackerley and Christopher Isherwood. He edited the Reader’s Companion to the Twentieth-Century Novel and The Reader’s Companion to Twentieth Century Writers, and was an associate editor of The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. He writes about books and gardening for a wide variety of newspapers and magazines and lives in London’s East End.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 4, 2018
Peter Parker stays true to his words right until the end of this wonderful and beautifully produced book. He says, ‘My book is not a work of scholarship. It is intended to inform and entertain. Most books take the form of dictionaries, whereas this one is intended to be read as a series of discursive essays.' Highly recommended read and the best gift to give on Christmas!
October 30, 2020
If you have ever wondered how Eryngium ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’ got its name, this book is for you. Peter Parker shares a wealth of knowledge about the origins of the latin names of plants and makes the world of the classification of the genus and species of plants a little more accessible to gardeners.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews