Customer Reviews

Botany for Gardeners

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not just for gardeners, this gentle and high level introduction to a scientific understanding of plant life will be of interest to anyone who wants to know the basics of plant development, ecology, and reproduction. Emphasizing breadth rather than depth, the book provides basic information organized under the broad headings of: Growth, Organization, Adaptation, Functions, and Reproduction.

This is a book about the science of botany. It's not a field guide to help you identify plants. It contains no advice on how to plant tulips or where to site begonias. It has nothing about gardening tools or potting soil or which brand of plant nutrients to buy. It is for gardeners only in the sense that people who keep gardens and love plants and flowers will learn something about the basic physiology and function of their plants - kinds of things they won't always get from gardening books and magazines. The book imparts information about "what" is going on in the plants, rather than "how" to plant and tend them.

Capon keeps it simple and straightforward. Cell biology, for example, is treated in only about seven pages, including illustrations. But the casual reader will get enough to at least understand that cellular functions are the basis of life and are worth exploring if one is interested in knowing more about how the basic processes work. Other topics are treated similarly. There's enough science to give you a taste of what's really going on, but you'll have to read elsewhere if you want a thorough understanding.

If you need a serious botany textbook, this isn't it. But if you want to survey the subject, it's an excellent start.

The black and white drawings and color photos are first rate. An appendix on naming gives some basic concepts of taxonomy. An excellent glossary and a thorough index make it easy to check the meaning of a term that you know the author introduced before but you can't remember where and don't remember what it means.

As a novice in the subject, I learned quite a bit from this book.

Now in a newly revised edition, Botany For Gardeners is an instructional, scientific text written specifically in everyday language for gardeners, horticulturalists, and lay people. Author Brian Capon, a former professor of botany with thirty years' experience, explains how plants are structured, how they adapt to their environment, how water is transported from soil to leaves, why minerals, air, and light are important for healthy plant growth, how plants reproduce, and much more. Black-and-white diagrams and color photographs illustrate this superb self-teaching tool for the truly dedicated gardening enthusiast.

Make no mistake, this is a science book. The reason: Botany is a science. Brian Capon begins at the plant cellular level and progresses outward in a manner and pace that is conducive to understanding the fascinating life of things botannical. He presents information that can be understood by the average adult who desires more depth on what is going on within the plant. As a gardener I have learned what works and what doesn't work in my particular region with my individual greenish thumb but it is a long time between growing seasons. Armed with solid scientific knowledge I can observe my plants and trees far better with a newly educated eye. Maybe those past planting mistakes were not the fault of the region but my own lack of knowledge and insight. It's the case of I didn't know what I didn't know about plants. As a result of my winter study this year I will plant my garden with deepest reverence for my plants inside and out.

Anyone who has been reading gardening books for a while is bound to start wondering about the underlying science. This is the perfect introductory book. It's rigorous, but there's still room to toss out the occasional interesting fact, such as grasses evolved their unique ability to regrow leaves in response to grazing animals. Or tropical trees have no rings. Worth a dozen ordinary gardening books.

This book met my needs perfectly. It is a brief but comprehensive and lively review of plant biology for the serious gardener. Well organized. Excellent illustrations. Appropriate references to the gardening environment.

It covers 50% of the material found in a definitive botany textbook in 25% of the space and 25% of the cost.

I teach Master Gardeners. They get a manual plus this book. It greatly reinforces the botany section of the Master Gardener program. The pictures are much better than I could draw by hand....I have used it to teach at least 50 Master Gardeners.

This definitely is a valuable book for any gardener who's looking for a book on botany. Personally, I was hoping for simpler insights into the miracles that I observe taking place in the garden -- and I did learn a lot from this book. However, while "Botany for Gardeners" was touted as elementary, plowing through it (pun intended) proved to require quite a bit of perseverance. Because the book, admirably, covers all the technical matters in the field of botany, it does tend to be, well, technical. (Botany is, after all, a science!) In the end, I would have preferred something like "Botany for Dummies," but, as yet, there's no such title. But "Botany for Gardeners" will retain a useful place on my garden bookshelf.

Botany for Gardeners by Dr. Capon is a wonderful addition to any gardener's library but most likely will find its way into many Master Gardener's libraries before a gardener's library. I am both and I also have degrees (many years ago) in botany, chemistry, and engineering. A person that gardens for the joy and love of plants may not find this book interesting or useful unless they are seeking more knowledge about what makes a plant stand up, turn color in the fall, use the CO2 in the air to make its food. That said, for those who are Master Gardeners or botany students this is an excellent find.
Botany is fairly simple compared to the harder sciences but it is still science none the less. The Master Gardener class requires a section on botany and some presentation may be so complex they become a wasted few hours for a person without a science background. What is unique about this book, as opposed to a standard botany text book, is that Dr. Capon has simplified rather complex processes without losing any of the science behind the process. Believe me when I say a basic botany book for college courses is way more complicated than this, although not always better in terms of the learning process.
The book itself is remarkable for the stunning photography. One does not need to be a scientist to appreciate how remarkable the cross sections of plant parts are, and how much they reinforce the text. I will be putting together a PowerPoint Presentation for my counties Master Gardener program as we are losing our long time professor that has taught this part of the program for years. He could speak with a few slides and great knowledge. It will be hard to replace him but I hope by using Dr. Capon's book I can simplify botany for Master Gardeners and help them to gain an appreciation for the wonders of this world at the macro and microscopic level.
For those of you who just love to garden and do not care what a bud looks like or want to wade through scientific names, check this book out from your library and just look at the stunning photos. It may encourage you to want to know, what does make a tree stand up!
Thank you Dr. Capon for a well done book.

Excellent basics for understanding those silly plants. finally, a comprehensive guide to just what is going on in the plant world, and easily understood. I think it is a must have for beginners and teachers.

This is an excellent introductory text on plants. Anyone who gardens, forages for edible wild plants, or has an interest in ecology, will find everything they need here. The explanations are clear, concise, and contain all the vital information in each area. The diagrams are fantastic, and very informative.

Highly, highly, recommended!