As Clifford helps Emily Elizabeth with her garden, he learns about seeds, how they grow, and the importance of care and love for both growing plants and puppies.

Reproduction of the original.

When a family of settlers follows the gold rush to California, they carry with them a single red geranium to plant at their destination as a symbol of hope.

This little tale is a terrible indictment against war, and yet it is written with utmost simplicity — a really artistic simplicity which permits its being placed side by side with the best pages of Turgenev and Tolstoy. In 1879 an execution was pending at St. Petersburg, and the summary justice of a court-martial had produced a most painful impression on society. During the night Garshin made a desperate effort to obtain a reprieve for the condemned. He failed in his attempt, and two days later, seized by a nervous disease, he ran away from his friends who kept watch over him, wandered on foot over Russia, and was at last confined in a provincial lunatic asylum. He soon recovered, and wrote “A Red Flower," a most striking description of the double consciousness of a madman who knows his illness and yet makes superhuman efforts to destroy some red flower — a red poppy he saw in the garden of the asylum—because that flower, stained with the blood of all martyrs of humanity, appears to be, in his imagination, the cause of all human sufferings. Garshin's tale records of what he saw, felt, and suffered himself. But his brain was tormented by the same questions and contradictions which perplex so many of his contemporaries, so that his tale reflect the actual state of mind of educated society in the Russia of today; and he was endowed with a fine artistic taste which permitted him to show in a few traits the very bottom of the human heart. He possessed to a high degree the really artistic gift of obtaining the most powerful effects by the simplest means. —The Literary World, Volume 19 [1888] “A Red Flower” is a fantastic picture of insanity by Vsevolod Garshin, one of the younger Russians of the day. —The Smart Set, Volume 35 [1911]

The best things come in small packages! Beloved florist Jill Rizzo (coauthor of the bestselling Flower Recipe Book) is back, and this time she has turned her attention to charming miniature arrangements. Projects are organized seasonally, and range from a thimble-sized vase of pansies to a tiny teacup holding a bundle of zinnias to a bud vase with a single Japanese anemone. All told, the book contains over 100 easy-to-follow recipes: ingredients lists specify the type and quantity of blooms needed; clear instructions detail each step; and hundreds of photos show how to place every stem. The featured flowers include varieties widely available at florists or farmers’ markets as well as tiny treasures found sprouting from sidewalks and walls, clipped from the landscape or garden, or pruned from common houseplants. The book also includes ideas for unexpected vessels (dollhouse suppliers are a great source for miniature vases!), a flower care primer, and all the design techniques readers need to know.

Flower arranging has never been simpler or more enticing. The women behind Studio Choo, the hottest floral design studio in the country, have created a flower-arranging bible for today's aesthetic. Filled with an array of stunning, easy-to-find flowers, it features 400 photos, more than 40 step-by-step instructions, and useful tips throughout. The arrangements run the gamut of styles and techniques: some are wild and some are structured; some are time-intensive and some are astonishingly simple. Each one is paired with a "flower recipe"; ingredients lists specify the type and quantity of blooms needed; clear instructions detail each step; and hundreds of photos show how to place every stem. Readers will learn how to work with a single variety of flower to great effect, and to create vases overflowing with layered blooms. To top it off, the book is packed with ideas for unexpected vessels, seasonal buying guides, a source directory, a flower care primer, and all the design techniques readers need to know. Alethea Harampolis and Jill Rizzo are the founders of Studio Choo, a San Francisco-based floral design studio that serves up fresh, wild, and sophisticated flower arrangements for any occasion. Their work has been featured in publications such as Sunset, Food & Wine, and Veranda and in the blog Design*Sponge.