Here is the complete list of 2023 Advent Botany gift recommendations. All the books but one (Hallé's In Praise of Plants) were written in English, and there is one Spanish translation from the English, but many of them have an international focus of some kind. In future years, we hope to include more books in different languages.
This list spans titles with appeal for all ages, and interest levels. The majority of authors and illustrators are women. We rolled out this list across social media platforms from Twitter (X), this lab. blog and for the first time, TikTok with the #BookTok hashtag. Our project to re-launch Advent Botany, even inspired Dr. Fallon Tanentzap to create some original art based on her reading of Michael Pollan's Botany of Desire.
Some of the books are recently published bestsellers. Others are out-of-print, but second-hand copies are available from online sellers. The list also includes botanical magazines, and one really old book (Gerard's Herball) that is available in facsimile, because it is out of copyright.
December 1st: Advent Botany founder, Dr. Alastair Culham reviewed The Fever Trail (2001) by Mark Honigsbaum on Twitter (X).
December 2nd: Prof. Dawn Bazely reviewed Women in Botany (2022) for 7-10 years, by Mary Wissinger, illustrated by Danielle Pioli on this lab blog.
December 3rd: Dr. Alastair Culham reviewed The Tulip (1999) by Anna Pavord on Twitter (X).
December 4th: Dr. Alastair Culham reviewed The Observer's Book of CACTI (1976) by S.H. Scott on Twitter (X). This book was originally published in 1958 and reprinted many times.
December 5th: Dr. Fallon Tanentzap reviewed The Botany of Desire (2001) by Michael Pollan.
December 6th: Dr. Nigel Chaffey reviewed The Plant Hunter (paperback 2022) by TL Mogford on Twitter (X).
December 7th: Dr. Alastair Culham reviewed A Rum Affair (1999) by Karl Sabbagh on Twitter (X). Here's an archived review in the New York Times.
December 8th: Dr. Alastair Culham reviewed Introduction to Ecological Biochemistry (1977) by JB (Jeffrey) Harborne on Twitter (X). This textbook was a great success, with its 4th (3rd?) edition coming out in 1993 and becoming available as an e-book in 2014.
December 9th: Prof. Dawn Bazely reviewed The Invention of Nature (2015) by Andrea Wulf on this lab blog.
December 10th: Dr. Fallon Tanentzap reviewed Wicked Plants (2009) by Amy Stewart on this lab blog.
December 11th: Prof. Brian Ford-Lloyd reviewed The Murder of Nikolai Vavilov (2011) by Peter Prince on Twitter (X).
December 12th: Dr. Mary Williams reviewed Lessons from Plants (2021) by Beronda Montgomery on Twitter (X).
December 13th: Prof. Dawn Bazely reviewed Lessons from Plants (2021) by Beronda Montgomery on this blog.
December 14th: Dr. Fallon Tanentzap blogged about How do Flowers Grow? (2015) by Katie Daynes illustrated by Christine Pym on this lab blog.
December 15th: Dr. Peter Ewins reviewed The Complete Gardener (2020) by Monty Don on TikTok.
December 16th: Dr. Claire Smith chose The Herball by John Gerard (1597), recommending it on Twitter (X). There are many inexpensive (some abridged) facsimile editions available.
December 17th: Dr. Kate Garnett recommended The Gilded Canopy (2005) by Sandra Knapp and Bob Press on Twitter (X).
December 18th: Dr. Julie Hawkins recommended Plant Form (1991) by Adrian Bell, with line drawings by Alan Bryan.
December 19th: Dr. Suzanne Moss recommended An Almost Impossible Thing (2023) by Fiona Davison on Twitter (X).
December 20th: Dr. Peter Ewins reviewed The Complete Gardener by Lorraine Johnson (2017 3rd edition) on TikTok.
December 21st: Prof. Brian Ford-Lloyd took us down the gift subscription route, recommending BBC Gardeners' World magazine on Twitter (X). Loads of different plant magazines have been published since the 19th century, and they make for fascinating historical reading. Alastair pointed out that Amateur Gardening magazine which inspired Prof. Ford-Lloyd, has made a comeback.
December 22nd: Prof. John Warren tweeted his newly published plant identification book, Frustrating Flowers and Puzzling Plants (2024). It's "A field guide designed to help you get to grip with those complex plant groups".
December 23rd: Dr. Claire Smith recommended A Geographical Handbook of All the Known Ferns: With Tables to Show Their Distribution (1870) by Katharine Murray Lyell. Find an open access pdf at the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
December 24th: Dr. Jonathan Mitchley reviewed In Praise of Plants by Francis Hallé. "In “Éloge de la plante [1999],” Hallé offers not just an ode to plants, but an invitation to redefine our understanding of life." Originally written in French, David Lee's English translation was published by Timber Press in 2002.
I was at my laptop on Christmas Day working on this complete list of plant-themed Advent Botany books, but a turkey and family duties threw a spanner in my scheduling, and I am only now finding the time to do finishing edits to this post on New Year's Eve!
Many thanks to everyone who took the time to write about their favourite botany books and share their passion for plants. Wishing everyone a peaceful holiday season and happy new year.
Dawn and Alastair
