A BookBrowse Best Nonfiction for Book Clubs in 2024 “Exceptional…[A] gripping narrative of one family divided by the ‘bamboo curtain.’” —Deirdre Mask, New York Times Book Review Sisters separated by war forge new identities as they are forced to choose between family, nation, and their own independence. Jun and Hong were scions of a once great southern Chinese family. Each other’s best friend, they grew up in the 1930s during the final days of Old China before the tumult of the twentieth century brought political revolution, violence, and a fractured national identity. By a quirk of timing, at the end of the Chinese Civil War, Jun ended up on an island under Nationalist control, and then settled in Taiwan, married a Nationalist general, and lived among fellow exiles at odds with everything the new Communist regime stood for on the mainland. Hong found herself an ocean away on the mainland, forced to publicly disavow both her own family background and her sister’s decision to abandon the party. A doctor by training, to overcome the suspicion created by her family circumstances, Hong endured two waves of “re-education” and internal exile, forced to work in some of the most desperately poor, remote areas of the country. Ambitious, determined, and resourceful, both women faced morally fraught decisions as they forged careers and families in the midst of political and social upheaval. Jun established one of U.S.-allied Taiwan’s most important trading companies. Hong became one of the most celebrated doctors in China, appearing on national media and honored for her dedication to medicine. Niece to both sisters, linguist and East Asian scholar Zhuqing Li tells her aunts’ story for the first time, honoring her family’s history with sympathy and grace. Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden is a window into the lives of women in twentieth-century China, a time of traumatic change and unparalleled resilience. In this riveting and deeply personal account, Li confronts the bitter political rivals of mainland China and Taiwan with elegance and unique insight, while celebrating her aunts’ remarkable legacies.

Make your garden and home look and smell heavenly with this accessible gardening guide that explains how to grow fragrant flowers outdoors and bring natural scents indoors by creating floral arrangements, scented beauty products, and more. “A practical guide to a life infused with the scent of flowers.”—Kelly Smith Trimble, senior editorial director for HGTV and author of Vegetable Gardening Wisdom and The Creative Vegetable Gardener There is nothing like the beauty and scent of a flower-filled garden and home. The Fragrant Flower Garden shows you how to grow flowers that are a feast for the nose as well as the eyes, from a naturally perfumed carpet of sweet alyssum and the warm, spicy scent of gardenia to the heavenly aroma of lilacs. A beautiful garden is one where you can find joy in every sense—literally. The Fragrant Flower Garden makes this dream a reality with garden design guidance for a year’s worth of flowers, foliage, and fragrance. Then, reap the wellness benefits of your fragrant flowers through DIY projects such as making floral arrangements, perfumes, tub soaks, and tinctures. Whether you prefer the smell of classic lavender or something more adventurous like chocolate cosmos, The Fragrant Flower Garden opens the door to creating a scented flower garden that is a delight for all.

A campaign on behalf of an almost forgotten pleasure of gardening--the pursuit of fragrance. Tells which plants to cultivate for crisp winter smells and for the sublime nosegays of summer in your home.

Guide to creating gardens that are highly scented as well as showing scent can complement colour and beauty in every type of garden. Illus.

Make your garden and home look and smell heavenly with this accessible gardening guide that explains how to grow fragrant flowers outdoors and bring natural scents indoors by creating floral arrangements, scented beauty products, and more. “A practical guide to a life infused with the scent of flowers.”—Kelly Smith Trimble, senior editorial director for HGTV and author of Vegetable Gardening Wisdom and The Creative Vegetable Gardener There is nothing like the beauty and scent of a flower-filled garden and home. The Fragrant Flower Garden shows you how to grow flowers that are a feast for the nose as well as the eyes, from a naturally perfumed carpet of sweet alyssum and the warm, spicy scent of gardenia to the heavenly aroma of lilacs. A beautiful garden is one where you can find joy in every sense—literally. The Fragrant Flower Garden makes this dream a reality with garden design guidance for a year’s worth of flowers, foliage, and fragrance. Then, reap the wellness benefits of your fragrant flowers through DIY projects such as making floral arrangements, perfumes, tub soaks, and tinctures. Whether you prefer the smell of classic lavender or something more adventurous like chocolate cosmos, The Fragrant Flower Garden opens the door to creating a scented flower garden that is a delight for all.