Nothing lights up a room like flowers. Whether it's baby's breath draped on a table at a wedding reception, clusters of daffodils in small pots scattered throughout a living room or a bucket of sunflowers on a picnic table, a strategically placed bouquet has the power to create a mood and make us feel special. Unfortunately, most of us don't know how to display flowers properly, and they often end up clumsily thrown together in a vase. In A Passion for Flowers, Carolyne Roehm teaches readers how to create arrangements that set off a flower's natural beauty. She discusses the overall features of dozens of the most popular flowers and helps readers understand how these elements relate to each other. Though the book is filled with ideas for brightening holidays and special occasions, Roehm stresses that the magic of flowers should be enjoyed year-round. Organized by season to profile the blossoms as they come into their glory, bouquet "recipes" with step-by-step instructions are sprinkled throughout along with special care instructions for more sensitive blooms. Sections detailing containers, conditioning flowers and elements of floral design are included at the end of the book. A Passion for Flowers features 250 breathtaking photographs and is a treasure trove of knowledge and inspiration that will help readers stop and smell the roses every day.

Simple text and photographs depict the parts of flowers and their pollination.

This book is the result of a challenge from one of my readers. The patterns are a combination of engineering and bead artistry but the engineering is done for you so you get the fun of watching your flowers bloom one bead at a time. So for Victoria and all the other flower-loving bead artists around the world, this one's for you! The flowers in this book are three dimensional, complete on all sides including stems, bracts, and some leaves. They can also be made without the stems for a flatter application. Flowers include Purple Passion Flower, Carnation, Blue Aster, Gaillardia (also called Blanket Flowers), Bright Lights variety of Cosmos, Nasturtium, Lilac, Seashell Cosmos in either single color or bi-color, Columbine, and Snap Dragon. All flowers are shown on the back cover or look inside for the Table of Contents. The designs have detailed instructions and are fully illustrated with over 300 color photographs and diagrams. All designs are original and have not been previously published in any other venue. All flowers are approximately life size when made with size 11/0 round seed beads. Size 15/0 round seed beads are also used for shaping, to smooth edges, and for some of the more delicate parts where 11/0 are just too big. A good light and a magnifier help a lot with the smaller details if needed. Or if you just can't work with tiny beads you could replace the 11/0 beads with 8/0 and the 15/0 with 11/0; you will just get bigger flowers. Glass beads can be heavy so wire is used as an armature in the stems and a few flower parts. A word of caution: this book is for the serious beader! If you love those magazine articles about making a necklace this afternoon and wearing it out for dinner, this book is not for you. You cannot start a bridal bouquet on Friday and have it ready for a Sunday wedding. That is not to say you must be an advanced beader. If you have some patience and can follow detailed directions, you can make these flowers. Basic peyote stitch instructions are NOT covered in this book. You need to know even and odd count, increasing and decreasing within rows and at the end of rows. This book was a labor of love; hope you like it.

A globe-trotting, behind-the-scenes look at the dazzling world of flowers and the fascinating industry it has created. Award-winning author Amy Stewart takes readers on an around-the-world, behind-the-scenes look at the flower industry and how it has sought—for better or worse—to achieve perfection. She tracks down the hybridizers, geneticists, farmers, and florists working to invent, manufacture, and sell flowers that are bigger, brighter, and sturdier than anything nature can provide. There's a scientist intent on developing the first genetically modified blue rose; an eccentric horticultural legend who created the most popular lily; a breeder of gerberas of every color imaginable; and an Ecuadorean farmer growing exquisite roses, the floral equivalent of a Tiffany diamond. And, at every turn she discovers the startling intersection of nature and technology, of sentiment and commerce.

"Whatever your level of interest or curiosity, Vanderplank has provided the information for further exploration. Separate chapters explain the classification and structure of passion flowers, the legend and etymology, cultivation, propagation, hybridization, pests and diseases, and the unique interactions of butterflies and passion flowers. The bulk of the book provides detailed information on 100 taxa, including specific botanical descriptions, along with a narrative covering their discovery, distribution, and the author's experience with these species or hybrids. Appending the text is a useful identification key in chart form, lists of addresses and suppliers, a glossary, and a brief bibliography. . . . John Vanderplank's Passion Flowers is the most comprehensive work on the subject in more than fifty years." -- Steven Foster, American Horticulturist (review of the first edition) "Lost flower of the Andes is blooming in Britain." This headline in the Daily Telegraph celebrated the last remaining example of Passiflora lourdesae, a herbaceous climber from a rapidly developing region of Venezuela that was raised from a cutting by John Vanderplank -- the only successful attempt from a dozen cuttings sent to botanists around the world. The story of this dramatic recovery from extinction is one of the delights of this new edition of Passion Flowers. This edition adds 53 new species, bringing the total number of species documented to over 150, and includes 41 new color photographs. The book now illustrates nearly a quarter of all known species. In addition there are 50 new line drawings -- all showcased in a new, larger format.

Thorough documentation and glorious illustrations of an exotic flower.

The former actress shares her sense of floral aesthetics, discloses the secrets of flower pressing, examines the portrayal of flowers throughout history in the arts, and discusses the use of flowers as beauty aids and home remedies