Of Flowers & a Village: An Entertainment for Flower Lovers - Tapa dura

In these amusing letters [Wilfrid Blunt] tells Flora about his new home, its eccentric citizens, and a great deal about plants and gardening, the latter an education that gardeners will appreciate. -- Lori D. Kranz "Bloomsbury Review" (03/01/2006) The letters are filled with wicked remarks about the neighbours, together with careful observations of plants and gardening practices; a gentle prod at those of us who take our gardening too seriously. -- Sue Tasker "Professional Gardener" (04/01/2006) " The letters are filled with wicked remarks about the neighbours, together with careful observations of plants and gardening practices; a gentle prod at those of us who take our gardening too seriously." Sue Tasker, Professional Gardener, April 2006 "The letters are filled with wicked remarks about the neighbours, together with careful observations of plants and gardening practices; a gentle prod at those of us who take our gardening too seriously." Sue Tasker, Professional Gardener, April 2006 "In these amusing letters [Wilfrid Blunt] tells Flora about his new home, its eccentric citizens, and a great deal about plants and gardening, the latter an education that gardeners will appreciate." --Lori D. Kranz, Bloomsbury Review, March/April 2006 "An enjoyable, lighthearted read for 'flower lovers' of all kinds." --Erin Kappeler, Horticulture, Fall 2006 " In these amusing letters [Wilfrid Blunt] tells Flora about his new home, its eccentric citizens, and a great deal about plants and gardening, the latter an education that gardeners will appreciate." -- Lori D. Kranz, Bloomsbury Review, March/April 2006 " An enjoyable, lighthearted read for ' flower lovers' of all kinds." -- Erin Kappeler, Horticulture, Fall 2006

Wilfrid Blunt (1901-1987) is probably best known today as a biographer of Linnaeus and as the author of the classic study "The Art of Botanical Illustration." But Blunt also had his lighter side. "Of Flowers & a Village" is a novel written in the form of chatty letters from a doting godfather to his goddaughter, Flora, an enthusiastic (if inexperienced) gardener who is recovering from an illness that has left her temporarily bedridden. Although we learn a great deal about daily life in the village of Dewbury, the subject never strays far from gardening -- by the novel's end, both Flora and the reader have received a gentle but thorough horticultural education. Never has learning about gardening been so much fun.