Sylvan Cities: An Urban Tree Guide

by Helen Babbs

Sylvan City is a potted-journey through our cities' woody places and a literary hunt for where their wild things are.
Reviews for Sylvan
'Clever, pretty, fun and informative - what more can a reader ask for?'
Sara Maitland, author of Gossip From the Forest
'Full of gems; a manifesto for green cities. Babbs will turn us all into urban rangers, an unquiet army of neighbourhood watchers.'
Max Adams, author of Wisdom of Trees
An intricately illustrated journey into the urban forest, Sylvan City is both a practical guide to identifying twenty of the most common trees standing sentry on our street corners, and a lyrical, anecdotal treasure trove of facts and history, culture and leafy lore.
It's certainly possible to appreciate a tree for its beauty, its shade and its shelter without knowing whether it's an alder, an elder, a lime or a beech. But look harder, and we begin to see the beauty beneath the bark - the tales of how trees are integral to medicine and art as they are furniture and firewood; the stories of why wild figs grow on the banks of Sheffield's rivers and why the ash tree is touched with magic and mischief.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 2, 2019

Reviews

[伟丽 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very beautifully insightful and a somewhat personal guide to trees :)!

[Sierra Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An imaginative take on the genre of field guides. Brief taxonomies preface contemplative essays that take the reader through the wooded streets and urban forests of England's cities. While not meant to replace a more active field guide to trees, it does provide unique insights into the ways trees benefit, shape, and struggle against urban life.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually don't want to give this back to the library now, and I need to walk around the city looking for these trees heheh

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A ramble through some common (and maybe too many uncommon) urban tree species. The short essays on each tree never quite contain enough detail to be a usable urban tree guide, nor enough tree specific anecdotes to teach you much history or mythology. Nice, but lacking a little colour.