100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names

If you are interested in the origins of names, you will thrive on the information in this book. The pages are illustrated by Ippy Patterson and the cover itself it just beautiful. If you love flowers, you will enjoy learning about abelias, zinnias, roses, etc. The fascinating stories behind the flowers names will intrigue you.

You will learn about the origins, hybridizations, and migrations of your favorite floral beauties. This is a horticulture history and a journey into myths and folklore. If you love gardening, this will open your eyes to the history behind all the plants in your garden. Now you will not only know the names, the flowers will now each have a story to tell. Some helpful gardening advice is also included. You will also learn why Empress Josephine carried a rose, which flower Thomas Jefferson was afraid to plant at Monticello and what the connection is between Queen Victoria, the Amazons and water lilies.

This delightfully illustrated hardcover book presents 100 well-known garden favorites. I hope that they will keep expanding this book to include even more stories of all our favorite flowers. Look for essential oil of rose for emotional healing.

~The Rebecca Review

This little but informative book was a hit for my mom-in-law. She thought she knew all about flowers, but no. She was amazed at all the facts in this book. A real nice present for flower lovers.!!

Gives the origins, migration, hybridization and folklore with fascinating obscure stories that some of us have not read before. Explanations of how folklore began and how some of these flowers were discovered and migrated to where they are now in the world. Interesting observations of reasons why flowers were carried to, named and accepted in various countries.

This is a wonderful, charming book. Each section provides an interesting anecdotal essay about the flower it covers. However, do not expect completeness (of course, there are many more than 100 flowers out there, and more than could be said about each than is possible in a page or two).

Also, don't look for consistent information about flower naming or morphology. Rather, these are very personal essays on each flower. The essays usually include some historical information that has to do with how the flower was named. At times, this format feel forced--I would have liked the author to be able to paint with a broader brush, as I sense she wanted to. And I also think that of the 100 flowers there are a few she doesn't really like that much. (Well, me too!).

These minor objections to the form of the book aside, it's really incredibly sweet, and very educational. 5 Stars plus.

I got this on a lark because (1) I adore plants and (2) as a linguistics major, I adore words. This book turned out to be a tasty treat on both counts.

The author promises word origins & faithfully provides with every entry, along with a sketch rendering of the plant. But --though it pains me to admit it-- not EVERY plant is blessed with a thrill-packed tale of linguistic derivation, so Ms. Wells wisely digresses, peppering her descriptions with attributed stories of interesting events and rumors associated with each plant. The overall effect is a gossipy piece with enough hard information to keep most armchair "researchers" happy.