Customer Reviews

Pods: Wildflowers and Weeds in Their Final Beauty (Scribner Library)

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Pods - Wildflowers and Weeds in Their Final Beauty by Jane Embertson is one of my favorite books on dried flowers. Great color photos of 144 plants flowering in the field, dried pods and used in an arrangement. The auther gives bloom time, flower description, leaf description and a description of where and when to pick the pods. There is an additional section of 28 black & white photos of grasses and "winter skeletons". This is a marvelous reference work with a total of

460 photos that are each a work of art.

While many focus their dried efforts on garden flowers or attempt to hold back the ravages of time on "hot house beauties", author Jane Embertson and photographer Jay Conrader focus on the almost otherworldly beauty found in the dried pods of wildflowers and weeds. This book has a lot to offer, whether to gardeners, naturalists or dried arrangement artists. Photos of 143 plants from NC to NE US ("where frost and freeze are common") are presented in their green plant and dried seed pod versions. Info is provided on blooming season, leaves, flowers, and where to find each kind of plant. So, it's great for weed identification. The icing on the cake for each plant is a photo showing an example of how to use it in a dried arangement! So there are a wealth of great ideas to stimulate creativity. Who would have thought "poke berry skeletons" might be useful? With the info Jane provides you can craft with colors ranging from purple-pink to pale pea-green to a rich raspberry just from pokeweed pods. Actually, a whole arrangement could be made from "noxious" weeds. (There's a "value-added" idea for a small farmer with an excess of weeds in the pasture!)

This book is "to die for". IF you can track down a used copy of this book, it's worth every penny. Enjoy.

This book is a real treasure. I bought my first copy in November, when the central Indiana countryside is dormant in shades of gray and brown. During a ten minute walk I found and was able to identify seven plants I didn't even know existed in our overgrown field. I own a small nature and garden shop and have recommended this book many times as an excellent way to identify common weeds and wildflowers when the bloom has faded. I highly recommend "Pods" for the beginning naturalist or crafter using everlasting materials.

I recently purchased a book from fireball. The name of the book is; PODS: Wildflowers and Weeds in their final beauty. The book looked like new and was a current issue.
I have purchased from Fireball before and always found the books to be excellent.

I purchased this for a friend who is a nature-lover & also likes to make dried flower arrangements. She liked it so much that I purchased another copy for my sister. Very interesting, as this book shows photos of native (mostly) flowers & weeds after the plant has gone to seed. The pods & seeds are actually just as pretty as the flowers, especially in dried arrangements. at this price you can't go wrong. The book also tells you when to pick the pods, and how to preserve them, if necessary.