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creativelifeofliz's review against another edition
4.0
This book provides a comprehensive dictionary of flowers (as well as some other plants) and their symbolism and historical uses. The best way to utilize this book is a reference guide, finding specific flowers that you're interested in learning about when you are interested.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and seeing these mini snapshots of history of each of the flowers described. It was interesting to get these bits and pieces and see how different cultures used these plants in the past. I wish we could have had guides for suggested bouquets based on different types of messages you might want to send, but I understand that this would be a lot to add to an already-sizeable guide.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wellfleet Press for providing an advanced copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and seeing these mini snapshots of history of each of the flowers described. It was interesting to get these bits and pieces and see how different cultures used these plants in the past. I wish we could have had guides for suggested bouquets based on different types of messages you might want to send, but I understand that this would be a lot to add to an already-sizeable guide.
Thank you to NetGalley and Wellfleet Press for providing an advanced copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
irina_r'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
redhairedashreads's review against another edition
4.0
This book is an alphabetical listing of over 1,000 flowers by their Latin name with small illustrations of what they look like. Each flower has its scientific name, its common name, if its toxic, and folklore and facts. Some flowers also have extra information provided like symbolic meanings, possible powers and specific color meaning. The reference book is very well organized and easy to find whatever flower you are looking for, even if you only know its common name.
I know basically nothing about flowers and their meanings so this book was fascinating. I especially loved the folklore and facts part about the flowers. There is a lot of interesting facts to learn about flowers. Overall, this was a wonderful reference book for beginners and experts. I highly recommend this book if you are a flower person or want to be a flower person.
*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*
I know basically nothing about flowers and their meanings so this book was fascinating. I especially loved the folklore and facts part about the flowers. There is a lot of interesting facts to learn about flowers. Overall, this was a wonderful reference book for beginners and experts. I highly recommend this book if you are a flower person or want to be a flower person.
*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*
izmirlimelike's review against another edition
5.0
The Complete Language of Flowers is a reference book that provides insight into the symbolism and folklore of certain trees, plants, and flowers. The plants are listed alphabetically by their scientific names, however, if you don’t know the scientific name of the plant, then you can look up its common name in the index at the end of the book. Each page has 4-5 flowers that are illustrated beautifully which makes it a joy to look through the book. I will be purchasing this for myself and I highly recommend it to all the flower lovers.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
graypeape's review against another edition
4.0
First, this is not a gardening guide, and you won't get recipes for tinctures and such. This is more of a guide to mainly flowers, but also herbs, fruits, trees, etc., and their symbolic meanings, folklore, facts, and possible powers. Flowers and other plants have been used throughout history to convey different messages and symbolism, and it became extremely popular during the Victorian era to send bouquets to express feelings that couldn't be spoken aloud. This book lists over 1,000 flower species, with lovely illustrations for each entry, and an extensive bibliography and indexes at the end. It would make a good coffee table book, as it's a fun and interesting book to pick up and flip through, and very aesthetically pleasing to look at!
#TheCompleteLanguageofFlowers #NetGalley
#TheCompleteLanguageofFlowers #NetGalley
marypaz13's review against another edition
5.0
Illustrations are so beautiful -- basic information about the flower is given -- great for someone who is just curious about flowers and their meanings without all the other stuff.
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
An informative, interesting and entertaining guide to the language of flowers.
I liked the style of writing, how the book is organised and the illustrations.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I liked the style of writing, how the book is organised and the illustrations.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.