A Garden of Marvels: How We Discovered that Flowers Have Sex, Leaves Eat Air, and Other Secrets of Plants
Author: Ruth Kassinger
Rating: ā 4/5
Date Read: 2014/04/30
Pages: 416
Ruth Kassingerās lovely book about the plants in our lives starts with a murder: she describes, in heartbreaking detail, the death of a kumquat tree that she had lovingly cared for. From the beginning, I knew I had found a kindred spirit in Kassinger. I love plants: one of my favorite activities is photographing flowers at the botanic gardens, and I dream about someday having a garden full of food that I can take from the ground to my dinner table. Unfortunately, Iām most adept at killing plants, partly because Iām absent-minded, partly because I just have no idea what Iām doing. Actually, if you will excuse me for a moment, I have to tend to my aloe, itās not doing so well.
A Garden of Marvels is a meandering book thatās one part science history, one part memoir, one part [a:Mary Roach|7956|Mary Roach|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1363641585p2/7956.jpg]esque contemporary science writing. The structure is part of its charm, although I did find that it was best read in small doses. In the end, I found myself deeply invested in the fate of Kassingerās hybrid citrus tree.
This was a perfect read for spring, and I recommend it to anyone interested in plants!
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