Presents simple techniques for an early spring garden of color profiling 30 hardy annual flowers.

Explains the patterns method of plant identification, describing eight key patterns for recognizing more than 45,000 species of plants, and includes an illustrated reference guide to plant families.

Flowering Plants profiles a trove of more than 100 flowering plant families with over 700 beautiful photographs of these botanical stunners.

The Galápagos are home to a wide-ranging assortment of unusual plants and animals. The islands became famous as the site of Charles Darwin's research leading to his theory of evolution by natural selection, and their magnificent flora and fauna continue to draw visitors from around the world. Based on the author's 16 years of fieldwork and featuring his exceptional photography, Flowering Plants of the Galápagos is the first accessible, in-depth yet compact guide to the plant life of the area. An invaluable resource for tourists, natural history enthusiasts, and professionals, the book: • Introduces the botanical history of the islands and their varied ecological zones • Allows easy identification of 436 flowering plants (77 families, 192 genera, and 390 species) • Covers endemic plants found exclusively on the islands; native plants, which grow on the Galápagos and elsewhere; and exotic plants present as a result of human actions • Offers thorough accounts of the plants which give the scientific, common, and family names; range; islands inhabited; habitat; description; and additional notes of interest • Is richly illustrated with 266 color photographs of flowering plants and 117 of plant pollinators, vegetation zones, non-flowering plants, and the islands themselves • Organizes species by form, leaf arrangement, and flower color and includes descriptive plant drawings to aid in identification • Provides a map of the Galápagos and a list of plants likely to be seen at popular tourist sites

Let the experts at the Royal Botanic Gardens guide you around the beautiful and mysterious world that is the plant kingdom. From regulating the air we breathe to providing food, clothes, fuels, and medicines - plants are fundamental to our lives. Discover an extraordinary diversity of species, which includes a grass that grows a meter a day, roots that breathe air, and "queen of the night" cactuses whose rare blooms vanish before dawn. In a combination of art and science, Flora celebrates plants from majestic trees to microscopic algae, explaining how they germinate, grow, and reproduce. It presents species that have evolved to accommodate pollinating insects such as the foxglove, and plants that have adapted to flourish in even the most hostile of habitats. Pierre-Joseph Redoute in the 18th-century was described as the "Raphael of flowers". Flora showcases his botanical paintings as well as those of Georg Ehret and others in this gorgeous visual celebration of plants through the ages. Whether you are a keen gardener, naturalist, or botany student, this beautiful book is a treat that will entice, inform, and amaze.

How do you make a garden grow? In this playful companion to the popular Tap the Magic Tree and Touch the Brightest Star, you will see how tiny seeds bloom into beautiful flowers. And by tapping, clapping, waving, and more, young readers can join in the action! Christie Matheson masterfully combines the wonder of the natural world with the interactivity of reading. Beautiful collage-and-watercolor art follows the seed through its entire life cycle, as it grows into a zinnia in a garden full of buzzing bees, curious hummingbirds, and colorful butterflies. Children engage with the book as they wiggle their fingers to water the seeds, clap to make the sun shine after rain, and shoo away a hungry snail. Appropriate for even the youngest child, Plant the Tiny Seed is never the same book twice—no matter how many times you read it! And for curious young nature lovers, a page of facts about seeds, flowers, and the insects and animals featured in the book is included at the end. Fans of Press Here, Eric Carle, and Lois Ehlert will find their next favorite book in Plant the Tiny Seed.

"The expert text describes each family's features, diversity of genera and species, distribution, habitat, classification, botany, natural history, and economic uses. More than 300 color illustrations and 250 botanical line drawings illustrate these showiest of New World plants - flora that range from the deserts of Mexico and the coasts of Central America to the vast lowland rain forests of Amazonia and the cloud forests of the Andes. Some of the plants described are distributed widely; others inhabit only one of the many unusual microclimates and habitats that result from tropical America's incredible variation in elevation and rainfall and its millions of years of geological change."--BOOK JACKET.

This book bridges a long-standing gap between obscure references in tropical botany and the gardener's need for an accurate, practical guide. Incorporating the latest advances in plant taxonomy, the book is a rare work of scrupulous research -- and magnificent photography -- that will be as useful to the gardener as it is to the botanist.

Flowers come in an unbelievable array of shapes and colors. Yet, their leaf and fruit forms surpass even their floral splendor. From Acanthaceae to Zygophyllaceae, this book features magnificent color portraits of 200 flowering-plant families from around the world. The deconstructed plant parts--flowers, leaves, stamens, and fruits--are individually scanned and arranged side by side on black background to provide unique insight into how plants grow and what they look like. The addition of text describing the plant families, and cross sections of the organs of some species, makes this book a valuable resource for botanical artists and horticultural enthusiasts.