Book Review: Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon

I wasn’t a great student earlier in my life but now have an intense desire to “connect the dots.”  As a gardener, I want to understand how and why plants are the way they are.  There are no coincidences in the plant world – absolutely everything happens for a reason.  So when I finally “dig” deeper into learning, I appreciate those connections.  And the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.  That’s why Botany for Gardeners is such a useful book.  The author doesn’t assume the reader knows a lot about the subject so he gives you pertinent information, and then he proceeds to connect the dots. 

As gardeners we know the basics about insects pollinating plants.  It is the plant and insect interaction, or partnership that is so fascinating.  Capon covers the topic from the cunning flower’s perspective.  Flowers entice insects by offering them nectar.  Some flowers lure insects with aroma.  Other flowers market their goods to insects by advertising bright colors.  Those brilliant red poinsettia bracts are a come-on to attract pollinators to those few tiny yellow flowers located in their centers.  Some plants have striped markings or lines of dots that serve as guides, like arrows,  to show a bee exactly where to score nectar.  Long, tubular flowers beat the competition by attracting special pollinators with really long tongues or proboscises.  Plants that bloom at night cleverly attract moths for pollination.  All the flowers’ diverse strategies lead to a single purpose -- reproduction.

Now the whole flower /insect/ pollen business really starts to heat up.  We all know pollen develops on a plant’s anthers but the process doesn’t stop there.  A single grain of pollen contains two cells.  Then things get a bit tricky.  One cell divides and becomes two sperm.  The other cell, from the same grain of pollen, takes on a different role.  It grows into a long tube to carry the sperm cells to the plant’s ovule, where reproduction takes place.  Bottom line: there is a lot more to those innocent looking flowers than meets the eye. 

Okay, maybe I have misled you.  The book isn’t all about reproduction.  Capon also provides readers with great information and illustrations of seed germination, cellular structure and growth, adaptation and much more.  He presents botany in way that is easier for a gardener like me to understand without reading the text book version.  And, Capon helps me connect the dots along the way. You will find this a useful book to add to your gardening library.