Books by Christina Harrison
Remarkable Trees
by Tony Kirkham, Christina Harrison
Throughout our history trees have been central to our existence. They provide us with vital ingredients for life—food, medicine, materials, even the oxygen we breathe. Ecologically, they are crucial in controlling pollution and moderating the climate, and culturally they are important to our religions, folklore and art. It has also been shown that as well as greening our lives they can improve our health and mental well-being.
Remarkable Trees tells the unique story of more than sixty species, each selected for its resonance and connection with people. In portraits that combine vivid cultural and historical narrative with a firm scientific grounding, Christina Harrison and Tony Kirkham reveal fascinating details of trees from the world’s major environmental zones and habitats. Some are obvious superstars such as oaks, redwoods and coconut, while others are more surprising: we learn of the monkey puzzle, a tree native to Chile that “can grow for 1,000 years,” and of the manchineel, a tree that contains sap so toxic to human skin that it’s a risk to stand beneath it on a rainy day. In these pages are trees that are healers and killers, trees that serve as foundations of great buildings and grand feasts, and trees that leave us with a sense of wonder and of worry for their survival.
In a tribute to the artists and botanists who have been inspired by trees for centuries, this book is filled with 240 delightful illustrations. The varied and beautiful images come from the unrivalled archive at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and they bring this enlightening and enchanting volume to life.
While trees have supported us for millennia, we have recently lost that direct, deep connection with them. Harrison and Kirkham remind us that we do not have to look far to reestablish that relationship and that we can still cherish the splendor and significance of these quiet giants.
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Treasured Trees Postcard Book
by Tony Kirkham, Martyn Rix, Christina Harrison, Masumi Yamanaka
This book is a celebration of trees, with beautiful botanical art as its centerpiece, accompanied by an entertaining and informative text. The paintings by Japanese artist Masumi Yamanaka illustrate the oldest and finest trees growing at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, showing the flowers and foliage and sometimes fruit at different stages throughout the year. This book accompanies an exhibition at The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew opening in Spring 2015.
These unique paintings are accompanied by the artist s commentary on the process of painting each tree and her personal experience with them. Masumi also provides an artist s preface, describing the progress of the paintings from sketch to finished work.
Renowned author Martyn Rix provides detailed text to accompany each tree, describing the natural distribution and cultivation history, as well as other points of interest including uses and associated wildlife.
Kew s Tony Kirkham provides an introductory chapter describing the history of tree planting at Kew Gardens and the measures taken to keep them healthy, as well as looking at other great arboreta around the world.
This book is ideal for all those lovers of trees and botanical art, and celebrates the strong association many of us have with trees and their presence in the landscape."
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Bizarre Botany: An A-Z Adventure Through the Plant Kingdom
by Christina Harrison, Lauren Gardiner
The world of plants is endlessly fascinating and full of surprises, even for an experienced horticulturalist or gardener. This book celebrates that bounty through a tour of its stranger precincts, a beautifully illustrated A-to-Z compendium of fascinating facts, quirky stories, and unusual adaptations.
Flipping through this elegant, approachable book, you’ll encounter oddities like the breathing knees of the swamp cypress or the illicit whiskey distilleries once fueled by juniper wood. Do you know what a vegetable sheep is, or what plants the Egyptians used in embalming? That poison dart frogs raise their young in tank bromeliads in the upper reaches of the forest canopy? Or that oak galls can be used as a source of ink? You’ll learn all that and more before you get to Z in this lovely gift book.
Full of fascinating floral facts, Bizarre Botany will appeal to plant lovers and gardeners old and young, experienced or just starting out—and its bounty of oddities are sure to make you a hit at your next garden party.
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