In the wrong hands, A Flower A Day could have been little more than an extended plant catalogue – informative but dull. Thankfully, Miranda Janatka steers her book past this pitfall to produce something that’s varied and entertaining.
(I was sent a copy in return for a fair review.)
It’s a celebration of flowers and their importance to us, from their place in the ecosystem to their significance as national emblems or in life events, such as birth and death.
They’ve been chosen, we’re told, to “represent some of the most incredible plants from around the world”. These include the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), the world’s most expensive spice, and the foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), which is important for its medicinal uses.
Rather than a cultivation guide, A Flower A Day is guide to the stories about plants. There’s insight into the origin of their names – botanical or common – details of legends associated with them, alongside descriptions of the appearance of the less commonly known.
I learned that winter flowering honeysuckle (Lonicera fragrantissima) was thought to ward off witches, that coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) was used as a tobacco substitute, and that secret messages were transported in the flowers of the white ginger lily (Hedychium coronarium) in the Cuban fight for independence.
Each entry is illustrated though not always with a picture – there are paintings, woodcuts and botanical illustrations as well. The dog rose (Rosa canina) is shown on a stained glass window, while a painting of Narcissus from Greek mythology accompanies the entry for the winter flowering daffodil ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’.
Likewise, the placing of flowers on particular days is sometimes a surprise – agapanthus, which we think of as a summer flower, appears for January 15, which is the time of year it flowers in its native South Africa.
Indeed, the plants chosen take us on a journey around the world from Chinese winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) to Australia’s mimosa (Acacia dealbata).
The book starts on January 1, predictably for UK gardeners with the common snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) and ends on December 31 with a depiction of a calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) by one of my favourite artists, Georgia O’Keeffe. With each entry short and in an easy-to-read style, A Flower A Day would be the perfect book to dip into daily.
A Flower A Day by Miranda Janatka is published by Batsford with an RRP of £20. You can buy it here for £15. (If you buy via this link, I get a small commission. The price you pay is not affected.)
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