That same description could apply in part to Jewell ’ s first book , “ The Earth in Her Hands : 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants .” It is a wide-ranging discussion on the gardening impulse — using a very broad definition of the idea of horticulture , captured in a series of pithy biographies . The profiled women have careers in and a passion for plants , which is expressed in botany , landscape architecture , floriculture , agriculture , plant hunting and breeding , food justice , garden writing and photography .
Many of the subjects are from the Pacific Northwest . An example is Cara Loriz , the executive director of the Organic Seed Alliance in Port Townsend , Washington , which advocates for community building and research for sustainable food systems . Another is Christin Geall , a multitalented writer / photographer and educator in Victoria , British Columbia .
I confess to having not heard of either woman prior to reading this book . Jewell writes that for Geall , “ flowers are a horticultural medium for leading and educating others about plants , acting not as pretty cages , but as colorful , Socratic-style critical thinking .” Both women exemplify the important work that ’ s being conducted at a local level to address the global needs facing all cultures .
Each biography provides a short list of women who inspired the subject . Many are contemporaries , or cherished ancestors . Some are important figures from history , including Sacajawea , Harriet Tubman and Rachel
Carson . Others are women without recorded names , but for whom “ horticulture is a human impulse , in all cultures , in all times , practiced , codified , ritualized , and valued across any and all social boundaries .”
The narratives about women in horticulture are evolving . In public presentations , Jewell has been expanding on the process of choosing and researching the subjects of her book . I ’ ve heard her speak twice in the last year , and each time she acknowledges that many additional women , from a wider breadth of ethnicities and nationalities , could be featured now . This study is important , ongoing work , and I hope that Jewell and / or others will continue this undertaking .
FLOWERS IN ART Phaidon Press is noted for their exquisite art books , capturing in print garden subjects from many different media . “ Flower : Exploring the World of Bloom ” is the 4000-year-old story of the human fascination with flowers told in more than 300 images .
Edited seamlessly by Victoria Clarke , the book begins with an insightful essay by Anna Pavord , the author of “ The Tulip ” and several other books that examine the history of human interaction with plants and landscapes . She does an excellent job of setting the background for the art that follows , noting that “ the images in this superb collection could have been arranged by chronology or theme , but instead pictures have been cleverly paired on facing pages to highlight revealing or stimulating similarities or contrasts .”
28 v Washington Park Arboretum Bulletin