The Brief Life of Flowers

‘A glowing account of the myths and meanings we impose on flowers . . . a e book to reread and treasure’ John Carey, Sunday Instances

‘A charming new e book that explores our fascination with flowers . . . A delight’ Every day Mail

Come rain or shine, flowers function perennially within the panorama of human historical past. Their magnificence has impressed a number of the best artworks and literature, charming artistic minds from Ovid to O’Keeffe, Wordsworth to Van Gogh, Botticelli to Beatrix Potter.

However flowers have additionally performed a key half in forming the previous, and should even form our future. Some have served as symbols of monarchs, dynasties and nations – from the Wars of the Roses to the Order of the Thistle. And whereas the poppy is usually related to WWI, it was the elderflower that handled its wounded troopers, becoming a member of an extended line of therapeutic flowers which have developed trendy drugs, together with lavender and foxgloves.

From the private to the political, flowers play an element in all facets of life: the precise rose, in response to the Victorian language of flowers, may mend a damaged coronary heart, whereas sunflowers could save our planet.

This fantastically written assortment is without delay enchanting and intriguing, weaving collectively artwork, science, historical past and horticulture to supply a contemporary perspective on the world round us. The Transient Lifetime of Flowers reveals how even essentially the most peculiar of flowers have extraordinary tales to inform.