Home › Flowers - Annuals › A Short History of Flowers: The Stories That Make Our Gardens
  • A Short History of Flowers: The Stories That Make Our Gardens by Advolly Richmond book cover
1 1

A Short History of Flowers: The Stories That Make Our Gardens

by Advolly Richmond

Be the first to review this book

Sixty garden flowers, each with a cultural history

$20.80 USD
$34.67 USD $20.80 USD
Save 40%

Hardcover New English

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

Sixty garden flowers, each with a cultural history

Advolly Richmond organizes this illustrated garden history around 60 familiar flowers and the human stories attached to them. The entries trace changing fashions in cultivation, the origins of flower names, plant collecting, rediscovery, medicine, religion, design, and royal symbolism. Examples range from bougainvillea gathered during an eighteenth-century voyage to a snowdrop associated with Victorian enthusiasm and a Californian poppy whose history includes Indigenous medicine and heraldry. Specially commissioned botanical illustrations by Sarah Jane Humphrey accompany the profiles, making the volume as much about the associations flowers have acquired over time as about their place in a garden.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Gardeners interested in the backstories of ornamental flowers
  • Readers of cultural and botanical history
  • Browsers who enjoy illustrated plant reference books

Themes

Garden historyBotanical illustrationPlant collectingCultivation and fashionCultural symbolism

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Unravel the extraordinary histories of 60 flowers that shape our gardens.

Have you ever wondered where your favourite garden flowers came from? Where their names derived? Or why some cultivars go in and out of favor? Every flower has a story and in A Short History of Flowers, Advolly Richmond guides you through the most intriguing, surprising, and enriching ones.

For example, you'll find stories of:

  • The 18th-century woman who disguised herself as a man to collect bougainvillea on a global voyage.
  • The snowdrop that sparked Victorian mania.
  • The daffodil rediscovered after centuries missing from cultivation.
  • The lily of the valley that became Christian Dior's lifelong lucky charm.
  • The Californian poppy that travelled from Indigenous medicine to royal heraldry.


Featuring specially commissioned botanical illustrations by award-winning artist Sarah Jane Humphrey, each entry highlights the plant and the story it tells, bringing its history vividly to life.

Whether you're a keen gardener or simply curious about the plants that surround you, this book invites you to see your garden, and its flowers, in an entirely new light.

Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all