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annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The Complete Language of Flowers-Pocket Edition is an encyclopedic manual of the traditional meaning for flowers and bouquet building in the traditional manner of the Victorians. Originally published in 2020, this smaller format reprint is due out 12th April 2022 from Quarto on their Wellfleet imprint. It's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
The book has a retro botanical print vibe and the introduction leads directly into a very short 'how to use this book'. The bulk of the book contains an alphabetical listing of the flowers and plants. Each listing contains a color illustration followed by some of the common names for each plant listed, symbolic meaning(s), possible powers, and folklore and facts. The listings are compact, there are 4-6 listings per page. The book includes a nice bibliography and two indices. One index includes the flowers listed with common names alphabetically, the other includes meanings, so if the reader wants to let the recipient down gently by declaring their platonic affection, it's easily looked up in the second index (Acacia, robinia, Austrian roses).
This is an appealing and very pretty book for a somewhat niche audience.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Complete Language of Flowers-Pocket Edition is an encyclopedic manual of the traditional meaning for flowers and bouquet building in the traditional manner of the Victorians. Originally published in 2020, this smaller format reprint is due out 12th April 2022 from Quarto on their Wellfleet imprint. It's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
The book has a retro botanical print vibe and the introduction leads directly into a very short 'how to use this book'. The bulk of the book contains an alphabetical listing of the flowers and plants. Each listing contains a color illustration followed by some of the common names for each plant listed, symbolic meaning(s), possible powers, and folklore and facts. The listings are compact, there are 4-6 listings per page. The book includes a nice bibliography and two indices. One index includes the flowers listed with common names alphabetically, the other includes meanings, so if the reader wants to let the recipient down gently by declaring their platonic affection, it's easily looked up in the second index (Acacia, robinia, Austrian roses).
This is an appealing and very pretty book for a somewhat niche audience.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
hannas_heas47's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting look at flowers and there meaning. I’ve always wondered what flowers meant what but this book names many types of herbs as well and even delves into folklore or history. Reprinted edition but definitely interesting enough to actually buy a copy. Only thing I disliked was that it was listed by Latin name and not entirely helpful if all you know is a reference name. Glossary holds regular names and meaning if you prefer. Five stars!
rin_84's review against another edition
3.0
First of all, thank you Quarto Publishing Group-Wellfleet Press for giving me the opportunity to read this review copy. This is a very beautifully illustrated book. Even the book's cover is gorgeous. I admit that i was enticed by the cover and of course by the interesting details and descriptions of the book.
However,there are a few parts of this book that is not to my liking. But first i will list a few points that i like about this book. I find some of the facts and info stated in the folklores and facts section to be quite interesting like for example how the Hibiscus called the Shoe Flower is named so as the petals can be used to shine shoes and in the Pacific Islands, a red Hibiscus flower is worn by women as a sign of their interests, if worn behind the left ear means she desires a lover, if worn behind the right ear, means she already has a lover, and if worn behind both ears means she wants another one!. Or the story about wild barley,how in the medieval times, a type of divination using cakes made of wild barley was used to determine guilt or innocence known as alphitomancy, if there was a group of suspected criminals, all of them were fed with the cakes or bread and supposedly the person who got indigestion was the guilty party!.
I also find the facts about some of these plants have become endangered and threatened to be just as interesting as well as crucial to know. Or how some the flowers like a few species of Orchids and plants are using some kind of unique mimicry camouflage or luring techniques into luring and tricking the pollinators insects to do cross pollinations for them.
Ok, those are among points that i liked about this book. Unfortunately, there are a few parts that i find lacking and a little disappointing. For one thing, is the way the author organizes the flowers and plants according to Latin Names instead of the Commonly used,well-known or popular names. I find this part to be troubling and a bothersome especially to someone who is unfamiliar and is not an expert in plants and flowers but is interested to learn about them like me. Isn't a reference guide supposed to be informative as well as easy to follow?. Listing the plants according to their unfamiliar Latin Names isn't easy to follow as we need to look out at the index sections for those names. Isn't it better, if listing the plants according to their popular or commonly known names first, then followed by their Latin/scientific names?.
Secondly which is also the most important part that is the poisonous and toxicity symbols and descriptions of those plants. Why is it that i find that only a few of those poisonous plants came with the descriptions of the level of harmfulness and the side effects of those poison towards humans and animals and which parts are harmful while many others did not have any descriptions or information at all about all of these things?. Yet the most shocking thing is that some of the supposed to be poisonous or toxic plants are from among the plants that we usually used for cooking and the plants that we usually planted in our gardens. Now, that's the part that confuses me i mean if some parts of the plants are really harmful and toxic, shouldn't it come also with an information and some descriptions so that we are aware of it and can take safety precautions?. Not only that, there isn't even an illustration of some of these supposed to be harmful plants for our reference and guidelines. How are we supposed to take some safety and precautionary measures of these plants if we do not even know how it looks like or what kind of harm it can cause to us?.
Thirdly, i am confused with the purpose or objective of this book. As a supposed to be a reference guide, i find this part to be a little confusing as i find this book focuses more on the superstitious mumbo jumbo,myths and legends which is a bothersome to me as for one thing, that isn't the only kind of information that i was looking for from this book and i am not a superstitious person. It is okay to include some superstitious beliefs and local folklores about those plants coz i am sure many people are interested to know about them (so do i) but they are just way too much info and focus on all of that until i begin to think that this book is actually a reference guide for magic spells and witch crafts!. I wish you could also add some beneficial info about those plants like how they are used in other culture as in cooking, as medicine or for other purposes you know more of that cultural and historical aspects to make it more interesting and something useful we could use or apply like for treatment or the medicinal aspect,for everyday purposes like to clean or remove something,etc. I seriously think this book could use a little more extensive and careful research and more editing as i find some facts of the plants to be misleading and confusing.
In conclusion, this book could be a much better and more interesting book but needs some polishing and editing in certain areas. As for now, i could only give this book a rating of 2.5
However,there are a few parts of this book that is not to my liking. But first i will list a few points that i like about this book. I find some of the facts and info stated in the folklores and facts section to be quite interesting like for example how the Hibiscus called the Shoe Flower is named so as the petals can be used to shine shoes and in the Pacific Islands, a red Hibiscus flower is worn by women as a sign of their interests, if worn behind the left ear means she desires a lover, if worn behind the right ear, means she already has a lover, and if worn behind both ears means she wants another one!. Or the story about wild barley,how in the medieval times, a type of divination using cakes made of wild barley was used to determine guilt or innocence known as alphitomancy, if there was a group of suspected criminals, all of them were fed with the cakes or bread and supposedly the person who got indigestion was the guilty party!.
I also find the facts about some of these plants have become endangered and threatened to be just as interesting as well as crucial to know. Or how some the flowers like a few species of Orchids and plants are using some kind of unique mimicry camouflage or luring techniques into luring and tricking the pollinators insects to do cross pollinations for them.
Ok, those are among points that i liked about this book. Unfortunately, there are a few parts that i find lacking and a little disappointing. For one thing, is the way the author organizes the flowers and plants according to Latin Names instead of the Commonly used,well-known or popular names. I find this part to be troubling and a bothersome especially to someone who is unfamiliar and is not an expert in plants and flowers but is interested to learn about them like me. Isn't a reference guide supposed to be informative as well as easy to follow?. Listing the plants according to their unfamiliar Latin Names isn't easy to follow as we need to look out at the index sections for those names. Isn't it better, if listing the plants according to their popular or commonly known names first, then followed by their Latin/scientific names?.
Secondly which is also the most important part that is the poisonous and toxicity symbols and descriptions of those plants. Why is it that i find that only a few of those poisonous plants came with the descriptions of the level of harmfulness and the side effects of those poison towards humans and animals and which parts are harmful while many others did not have any descriptions or information at all about all of these things?. Yet the most shocking thing is that some of the supposed to be poisonous or toxic plants are from among the plants that we usually used for cooking and the plants that we usually planted in our gardens. Now, that's the part that confuses me i mean if some parts of the plants are really harmful and toxic, shouldn't it come also with an information and some descriptions so that we are aware of it and can take safety precautions?. Not only that, there isn't even an illustration of some of these supposed to be harmful plants for our reference and guidelines. How are we supposed to take some safety and precautionary measures of these plants if we do not even know how it looks like or what kind of harm it can cause to us?.
Thirdly, i am confused with the purpose or objective of this book. As a supposed to be a reference guide, i find this part to be a little confusing as i find this book focuses more on the superstitious mumbo jumbo,myths and legends which is a bothersome to me as for one thing, that isn't the only kind of information that i was looking for from this book and i am not a superstitious person. It is okay to include some superstitious beliefs and local folklores about those plants coz i am sure many people are interested to know about them (so do i) but they are just way too much info and focus on all of that until i begin to think that this book is actually a reference guide for magic spells and witch crafts!. I wish you could also add some beneficial info about those plants like how they are used in other culture as in cooking, as medicine or for other purposes you know more of that cultural and historical aspects to make it more interesting and something useful we could use or apply like for treatment or the medicinal aspect,for everyday purposes like to clean or remove something,etc. I seriously think this book could use a little more extensive and careful research and more editing as i find some facts of the plants to be misleading and confusing.
In conclusion, this book could be a much better and more interesting book but needs some polishing and editing in certain areas. As for now, i could only give this book a rating of 2.5
danni11's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to Netgalley and to Quarto Publishing Group – Wellfleet Press for providing me with an Earc in return for an honest review,
I adore this book. The illustrations are beautiful, the symbols/folklore/possible powers/alternative names are very interesting and are formatted in a way that it is quick to reference. This book is a remarkable reference, a nice coffee table book and overall, just a nice book to read.
I adore this book. The illustrations are beautiful, the symbols/folklore/possible powers/alternative names are very interesting and are formatted in a way that it is quick to reference. This book is a remarkable reference, a nice coffee table book and overall, just a nice book to read.
thepessimisticreader's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the digital galley in exchange for my honest review.
Beautiful, easily identifiable illustrations. Absolutely chockfull of all sorts of plant-related information, and includes more plants than I have ever seen in my life.
I really enjoyed how plant folklore is perfectly blended with facts and the Victorian Language of Flowers.
If you’re going to make this dictionary really work for you, a google search for the scientific name of your favourite flower is going to be required. There are simply so many common names for any given plant, it must be organized by scientific name.
Reading about the old uses, both practical and fanciful, of plants fosters a connectedness with the world around you, and on your next trek through nature, perhaps you may identify some of these blooms.
I would have liked to see sections about plant toxicity, and maybe even a section about what is safe to grow around household pets.
Beautiful, easily identifiable illustrations. Absolutely chockfull of all sorts of plant-related information, and includes more plants than I have ever seen in my life.
I really enjoyed how plant folklore is perfectly blended with facts and the Victorian Language of Flowers.
If you’re going to make this dictionary really work for you, a google search for the scientific name of your favourite flower is going to be required. There are simply so many common names for any given plant, it must be organized by scientific name.
Reading about the old uses, both practical and fanciful, of plants fosters a connectedness with the world around you, and on your next trek through nature, perhaps you may identify some of these blooms.
I would have liked to see sections about plant toxicity, and maybe even a section about what is safe to grow around household pets.
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