Looking for a cool spot on a hot day? Bring your little ones to the PHS McLean Library, where we’ve gathered our collection of nature-inspired children’s books all in one convenient place—at just the right height for eager readers, too. The Library is open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. While the little ones are reading, you may want to take a look at these new offering for July:
Asian Gardens: History, Beliefs and Design, Tom Turner. This book explores the ways in which designs were guided by beliefs. Tom Turner has been researching and teaching the theory and history of garden design for some 40 years. His visits, research, drawings and photographs are brought together in detailed studies of West Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. The period covered extends from the earliest gardens to the present. Using maps, diagrams, and photographs, the author explores how and why Asian gardens developed their characteristic forms and functions. Treating garden design as a “word and image” subject, the account is coherent, comparative, and readable.
Tuberous Begonias, Jack Larter. Tuberous begonias are sensational flowers—their abundant blooms capture everyone’s heart and eye. This authoritative guide introduces the best varieties and celebrates the great range of colors grown. Written by Jack Larter, who has devoted many years of love and toil to the plants, it covers everything that both novice and veteran need to know to grow blooms for the home, garden, and show bench.
The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener, Niki Jabbour; Joseph De Sciose (photographer) The first frost used to be the end of the vegetable gardening season — but not anymore! In The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener, Nova Scotia–based gardener and writer Niki Jabbour shares her secrets for growing food during every month of the year. Her season-defying techniques, developed in her own home garden where short summers and low levels of winter sunlight create the ultimate challenge, are doable, affordable, and rewarding for gardeners in any location where frost has traditionally ended the growing season.
The Mountain That Loved a Bird, Alice McLerran; Eric Carle. A beautiful bird named Joy stops one day to visit a mountain. Every spring she flies high in the air, looking for the best place to build her nest and raise her children. As much as Joy would like to stay with the mountain, she must leave to continue her search. After hearing the mountain’s pleas for her to stay, Joy is so touched she makes a very special promise that each spring the mountain will be visited by one of her kin. Over time the birds bring about a wonderful change in the mountain–a change that will transform the mountain forever.
Wicked Bugs, Amy Stewart. In this darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the natural world, Stewart has tracked down more than 100 of our worst entomological foes—creatures that infest, infect, and generally wreak havoc on human affairs. From the world’s most painful hornet, to the flies that transmit deadly diseases, to millipedes that stop traffic, to the “bookworms” that devour libraries, to the Japanese beetles munching on your roses, Wicked Bugs delves into the extraordinary powers of six- and eight-legged creatures.
A Glorious Enterprise, Robert McCracken Peck; Patricia Tyson Stroud; Rosamond Wolff Purcell (photographer). Founded in 1812, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia stands today as the oldest natural history museum in the Western hemisphere. A Glorious Enterprise, the first complete history of the Academy, tells the story of the brilliant and passionate men and women who endeavored to acquire and disseminate knowledge of the natural world. Naturalist and historian Robert McCracken Peck and historical biographer Patricia Tyson Stroud take readers behind the scenes of the Academy, recounting the signal moments and achievements that shaped its first two hundred years—from its landmark discoveries in North America and around the world, through the construction of its famed dioramas in the 1930s, to the pioneering work of Academy scientists in water pollution and conservation long before these were topics of popular concern.
Trees and Forests: Wild Wonders of Europe, Annik Schnitzler; Florian Möllers; Staffan Widstrand (contribution by); Bridget Wijnberg (contribution by). For more than one year, 69 of the world’s best nature photographers traveled to all corners of Europe to capture the incredibly rich natural heritage of the continent. They have created more than 200,000 images of nature, some of which were published in the popular Wild Wonders of Europe. Now, Trees and Forests: Wild Wonders of Europe reveals even more of these stunning photographs, while paying tribute to the multihued beauty of trees.
Tales from the Underground, David W. Wolfe. There are more than one billion organisms in a pinch of soil, yet we know much more about deep space than about the universe below. In Tales from the Underground, Cornell ecologist David Wolfe takes us on a tour through current scientific knowledge of the subterranean world. We follow the progress of discovery from Charles Darwin’s experiments with earthworms, to Lewis and Clark’s first encounter with prairie dogs, to the use of new genetic tools that are revealing an astonishingly rich ecosystem beneath our feet.
Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, Fern Marshall Bradley (editor); Barbara Ellis (editor); Ellen Phillips (editor). This book has been the go-to resource for gardeners for more than 50 years—and the best tool novices can buy to start applying organic methods to their fruit and vegetable crops, herbs, trees and shrubs, perennials, annuals, and lawns. This thoroughly revised and updated version highlights new organic pest controls, new fertilizer products, improved gardening techniques, the latest organic soil practices, and new trends in garden design.
Springtime Wildflowers of the Northeast, Carol Gracie. This exquisitely illustrated volume provides an in-depth look at spring-blooming wildflowers of the Northeast, from old favorites to lesser-known species. Featuring more than 500 full-color photos in a stunning large-size format, the book delves deep into the life histories, lore, and cultural uses of more than 35 plant species. The rich narrative covers topics such as the naming of wildflowers; the reasons for taxonomic changes; pollination of flowers and dispersal of seeds; uses by Native Americans; related species in other parts of the world; herbivores, plant pathogens, and pests; medicinal uses; and wildflower references in history, literature, and art.
The Everything Guide to Foraging, Vickie Shufer. If you’re searching for the freshest fruits and vegetables to add to your diet, you don’t have to look any further than your own backyard! With dozens of detailed illustrations, color photos, and more than 150 tasty recipes, this guide is your ultimate one-stop reference for identifying and harvesting the wild fruits and vegetables that grow in fields, forests, and even on your own lawn.
Chihuly Garden Installations, Dale Chihuly; David Ebony (contribution by); Mark McDonnell (foreword by); Tim Richardson (contribution by). The greatest living artist in the medium of glass, Dale Chihuly has long been fascinated by the colors and forms of nature. Over the years, his work has become increasingly open, using forms that show a strong relationship to the architecture of natural shapes. Here, lush illustrations showcase Chihuly’s unique glass sculptures positioned among the plants, flowers, and landscapes of some of the world’s finest gardens and conservatories, from St. Louis to Phoenix to Kew. Tracing the connection between Chihuly’s art and botanical life, Chihuly Garden Installations shows how the exchange between art and nature can shift from the harmonious and tranquil to stunning juxtapositions of scale and color.
Interested in any of these great books? Click here to visit the Library catalog.
Posted on July 16, 2012 by Barb
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