Garden Railways – August 2019

GardenRailways.com 61

Book review

Definitive dictionary

I

’m the type of person who can open a
dictionary and quickly get lost in the
illustrations on the page. Nicely
drawn illustrations grab my attention
and I’ll soon forget exactly why I
started searching!
This book is an alphabetical reference
of 1,300 gardening terms, so it’s essen-
tially a dictionary for gardeners. And
within its 228 pages are 726 line draw-
ings, illustrating many of the words.
While the majority of the book is
terms/definitions, there’s a short
introduction in the
front and two pages
of recommended
reading in the back.
The book uses just
two colors on its
pages: Red for the
gardening term and
its synonyms/ant-
onyms, and black for
the definitions and
drawings. Each entry
contains the word,
its definition, and
synonyms/antonyms

if appropriate. About half of the entries

include a drawing. If the entry refers to

only part of the drawing, a red callout

points to the specific area of mention.

On average, a spread of two pages con-

tains between 8-12 definitions.

A red colored tab on the outside

edge of the page highlights the letter of

the alphabet you’re on. These tabs are

staggered down the pages’ edges, so it’s

easy to f lip to a certain letter. Every let-

ter of the alphabet includes entries,

except for “y.”

If this book had

been just a list of def-

initions, I wouldn’t

be writing this

review. The illustra-

tions turn a good

book into a great one.

They are nicely done

and have a vintage

feel. Photos (or in

this case, illustra-

tions) are worth

1,000 words. On page

37, for instance,

you’ll see the term

FACTS & FEATURES

A Botanist's Vocabulary

By Susan K. Pell and

Bobbi Angell

Published by Timber Press

133 SW 2nd Ave. #450

Portland, OR 97204

Timberpress.com

■ 7" x 9"

■ 228 pages

■ Hardcover

■ Price: $24.95

“bud scale.” I didn’t recognize this

term, but when I saw the illustration I

immediately knew what it was (and

in this case, it included two drawings

showing different bud scales). The

photo above left shows this page.

The only quibble I have is that I’d

love to have a pronunciation guide

next to each term. While many words

are easy to pronounce (bud, branch,

force), others words could benefit

from pronunciation assistance (ful-

vous, mucronate, monoecious).

This isn’t a book you’ll likely read

cover to cover, though you certainly

could. It will be a book you’ll find

valuable when you need to look up a

term, or if you need a visual of a

plant’s components. I recommend it.

• Rene Schweitzer.

Lettered tabs

in red

“ILLUSTRATIONS

TURN A GOOD

BOOK INTO A

GREAT ONE.

THEY HAVE A

VINTAGE FEEL.”