An old cherry tree and a bird, two best friends, become fearful of the imminent threat of a new orchard and factory. What happens when the nearby creek becomes polluted? Can the bird help out his best friend or is it too late?

Each year, the flowering of cherry blossoms marks the beginning of spring. But if it weren’t for the pioneering work of an English eccentric, Collingwood “Cherry” Ingram, Japan’s beloved cherry blossoms could have gone extinct. Ingram first fell in love with the sakura, or cherry tree, when he visited Japan on his honeymoon in 1907 and was so taken with the plant that he brought back hundreds of cuttings with him to England. Years later, upon learning that the Great White Cherry had virtually disappeared from Japan, he buried a living cutting from his own collection in a potato and repatriated it via the Trans-Siberian Express. In the years that followed, Ingram sent more than 100 varieties of cherry tree to new homes around the globe. As much a history of the cherry blossom in Japan as it is the story of one remarkable man, The Sakura Obsession follows the flower from its significance as a symbol of the imperial court, through the dark days of the Second World War, and up to the present-day worldwide fascination with this iconic blossom.

Wybe Kuitert has written an account of Japanese cherries that spans disciplines as far ranging as history, geography, botany, and, of course, horticulture. Confusion and misunderstandings, particularly regarding the names of the plants, have hampered their appreciation in the West. Fluent in Japanese and a professor of landscape architecture at the Kyoto University of Art and Design, Wybe Kuitert consulted many sources and references never before translated into English, some of them ancient. This book will become an indispensable resource for sorting out incorrect and improper plant names that have stymied nurseries, collectors, and amateur gardeners. Full and complete information is also provided for the cultivation and propagation of cherries. A complete botanical key to the classification of Japanese cherries has been contributed by Dutch plant breeder Aric Peterse.

“Get ready for a beauty overload. It’s food for the soul, it’s a book of dreams and details, of flowers so perfect you want to hug them to you.” —Carla Coulson, author of Paris Tango Paris—City of Love, City of Light, City of Flowers. From elegant floral boutiques to lively flower markets to glorious blooming trees and expansive public gardens, flowers are the essential ingredient to the lush sensory bouquet that is Parisian life. With beautiful photography, Paris in Bloom transports readers on a stunning floral tour of the city, and provides recommendations to the best flower markets and a detailed guide to spring blooms. Timeless in content, Paris in Bloom is a book for Paris lovers to savor again and again, one to keep on the nightstand to conjure fond memories of their first visit and inspire dreams of the next. “Brilliantly captures the splendor of French fleurs with lush photographs and elegant prose . . . A masterpiece!” —Laura Dowling, former chief floral designer at the White House “I don’t know how Georgianna does it. She manages to make Paris, already the most beautiful city in the world, appear even more charming, more elegant and more beautiful than it already is . . . Paris in Bloom is filled with a veritable carpet of pinks and whites, pastels and green portraits that make me let out an audible sigh of joy. This book can re-inspire you to believe that yes, life really is quite beautiful.” —Doni Belau, author of Paris Cocktails “Destined to become a classic of its type, Paris in Bloom is Georgianna Lane’s love letter to Paris and to flowers.”—Gray Levett, editor of Nikon Owner magazine

This book describes some of the world's most spectacular flowering trees, shrubs, vines, and ground covers and gives instructions for growing them. A delightful visual experience, it offers exciting possibilities for enhancing the landscape with the beauty of flowers and serves as an invaluable guide to the flowering plants of tropical and subtropical regions.

This handsome presentation of the best in contemporary garden design will appeal to garden connoisseurs, landscape architects, photographers, and homeowners.