[PLANTHROPOLOGY: The Myths, Mysteries, and Miracles of My Garden Favorites]needs only a shiny satin ribbon tie
for a festive presentation."
Georgeanne Davis, The Free Press Newspaper
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"...Just in time for the winter gardening book list... just in time to ease my cynical mind and callous heart, and just in time for Christmas: A new book by gardening's Godfather, Ken Druse.
Tales from Ken's earliest childhood memories of his mother's garden are juxtaposed seamlessly with tales of Captain James Cook in the 1700s. Or you may find yourself back 10,000 years, visiting our ancestors while they start domesticating livestock and cultivating the grasses to feed them. Within a few pages you meet Pythagoras, the ancient Greek philosopher; Fibonacci, the 13th-century mathematician, and of course, Leonardo da Vinci-scientist, painter, draftsman, engineer, inventor. What do they have in common? Your garden.
As compelling as a crime novel, Planthropology just so happens to dispense more useful gardening wisdom along the way than half the books on my shelf. Whatever the topic-garden art, fragrance, bloom color, pests, pruning, propagation, design, bees, butterflies, several dozen more-Druse's great gift as a writer has always been foremost that the reader not only learns, but learns in proper context, his words a loving and playful kick in the pants toward lasting appreciation.
Only time bestows the mantle of classic, but I sense I hold a classic in my hands."
"Love of Plants Is Natural for this Author," by John Suskewich of The New York Botanical Garden:
"Planthropology: The Myths, Mysteries, and Miracles of My Garden Favorites is more plant centered and personal than his previous books. It encompasses history, botany, folklore, horticulture, and medicine, and illustrates the concept behind the neologism with a series of stories about plants and explorers, scientists, neighbors, artists, lost relatives, obsessive-compulsives, insects, and the author himself. Some of the plants he studies are the poppy, dove tree, fig, orchid, daphne, ginkgo, and one of my current favorites, the lore-laden Franklinia.
He emphasizes the 'plantyness' of gardening in this book, because I think he senses with some alarm that, as technology and culture develop, the bonds that have always tied people and nature together are being pressured and pulled and might snap permanently. Toward the end of the book, he refers to the metastasizing condition of "plant blindness." He recalls in a story about a Victorian girl's childhood that not so long ago kids encountered nature naturally, as part of their daily lives, but especially in their play. In other books he has recollected his own '50s suburban youth of walking in the woods and finding plants and building forts in oak trees. (That you inevitably fell out of and scraped your elbow and your mother sprayed you with vermilion Mercurochrome.) How differently we grow up today! Instead of becoming a naturalist and writer, Thoreau could have been joined to a joystick playing Grand Theft Auto for hours on end."
More of the review by Georgeanne Davis, The Free Press Newspaper:
"What is it that sets Druse apart from other garden writers? I believe it's the lively intelligence that shines through all of his musings in combination with just plain stunning photographs. Druse has it all: his design sense is impeccable, his writing engaging, and he has both endless curiosity about the natural world and a vast wealth of down-to-earth knowledge of gardening and its challenges that he's happy to share.
Planthropology is subtitled 'The Myths, Mysteries, and Miracles of my Garden Favorites' but is actually a meander through the stories of early plant explorers like Joseph Banks and Dr. Philipp von Siebold, among others, with side trips that explain the scientific naming system devised by Linnaeus, take a look at the patterns found in nature, discuss favorite low-maintenance plants, and give advice on pruning and growing trees from seed. The book's title is Druse's word to describe the study of plants and their histories. He says 'The anthropology of plants comes close, although anthropology refers to humans, not plants or animals. If I might borrow from this term and coin one from a green point of view, I might call the study planthropology.'"
Award-winning gardening author Druse (The Natural Garden; Ken Druse: The Passion for Gardening) here delves into the stories and myths about plants that have intrigued humans for centuries. Throughout history, plants have been sought for both practical and aesthetic reasons, and the accounts of plant explorers in the 1700s who risked their lives on treacherous plant-hunting expeditions make fascinating reading. Druse provides obscure anecdotes about the uses of plants for both medicinal and more sinister reasons and reveals the myths and truths behind them. Even more exciting are chapters about the plants themselves, how they are pollinated, their fragrances, and the patterns and symmetry in their structure. The author uses his favorite plants as examples and illustrates them with beautiful photographs. In a world where knowledge about plants seems to be waning, Druse offers suggestions on ways to encourage children to discover plants and care for the environment. Recommended for public libraries.—Phillip Oliver, Univ. of North Alabama Lib., Florence
From Anne Raver in the New York Times:
Ken Druse, the beloved, cranky gardener and photographer whose books are bibles for serious gardeners...
