Customer Reviews

Medieval Flowers

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

 

 

The best part of this book is Clay Perry's flower photography. He is one of the finest flower and garden photographers and his illustrations of growing flowers in this book are classic. Mind you, some of the illustrations of flowers picked and arranged are a little too cute for my taste.

The text of the book is just average. It's literate enough, but it has no spark of life or interest. The research is O.K too, but it covers no new ground and offers no new insights. I found that disappointing because this topic has opened up in recent years and more rigorous research and more lively writing could have enriched the book and offered the reader greater awareness and understanding of a seminal period in our garden history.

The material is well organized and there is a decent bibliography. With some flair and vision this might have been a book worth reading.

The best part of this book is Clay Perry’s flower photography. He is one of the finest flower and garden photographers and his illustrations of growing flowers in this book are classic. Mind you, some of the illustrations of flowers picked and arranged are far too cute for my taste.

The text of the book is just average. It’s literate enough, but it has no spark of life or interest. The research is O.K too, but it covers no new ground and offers no new insights. I found that disappointing because this topic has opened up in recent years and more rigorous research and more lively writing could have enriched the book and offered the reader greater awareness and understanding of a seminal period in our garden history.

The material is well organized and there is a decent bibliography. With some flair and vision this might have been a book worth reading.

Good for a coffee-table book, with some spectacular photography. However, the actual information on the plants is not in-depth, and the book does not cover a very wide range of plants. I would not recommend this book for a serious gardener or researcher, as there is not enough information to make it worthwhile.

Not a herbal or medicinal guide, Medieval Flowers is a lavishly illustrated compilation of history, folklore, usage, and the significance of herbs and flowers in medieval life. Example: St. John's Wort was a tool of divination, which predicted the course of love and the chances of matrimony, depending on whether a cut sprig wilted or remained fresh.
A welcome addition to my history and gardening libraries.