Book Review: Latin for Gardeners

RHS Latin for Gardeners

When I saw that the RHS was going to publish a book at delved into the latin that forms the binomial names of plants, I knew I had to read it. It was published in October 2012 and I received it that Christmas.


This is more than just a book. This is a work of art. The RHS has hundreds of years of botanical illustrations held in its Lindley library and they grace most pages throughout the book. Along with the A-Z listings that make up the majority of the text, there are 20 plants profiles from Acanthus to Vaccinium. The plant profiles are page long spreads that look at why plants ended up with the names we know them by today, including their usage throughout time, their medicinal use and occasionally, which type soil they thrive in!



Plant themes are two page spreads that look into various themes, such as 'The colour of plants' and 'Numbers and plants'. These discussions look at the usage of Latin throughout the theme. For instance in the theme 'Where plants come from' explains the Latinised words for places such as 'canadensis' for Canada and 'australis' for Australia.

Of course such as book would not be complete without a look at the people that explored our world to bring us knowledge, paintings, and often samples of the plants in the name of science and discovery. There are 10 double page spreads that explain a bit about their lives, their contribution, and plants that are named after them. These plant hunters range from Baron Alexander von Humboldt to Marianne North.

While there are other books about the Latin used to name plants and those books are much longer, and perhaps much more in depth than this book. I feel that this was the perfect book for myself. A book that introduces the topic, but doesn't overwhelm with its dictionary layout. I was very thankful that the A-Z listing was broken up by the topics I've mentioned above, as this made the book readable, rather than something I'd have a quick scan through before leaving it on a shelf. Mind you, saying that, it is a book that I will keep on the shelf, as I know it contains so much useful information in such an enjoyable format, that I will continually dip into it to retrieve the information I need about the people and the plants of the botanic world.


Own or Loan:         Own
Read Again:           Yes
Recommend:          Yes
Overall out of Five: 4