A Gardener's Guide to Botany

Ever wonder if plants sleep or why their leaves are shaped a certain way? The inner workings of the plants you love are revealed and celebrated in this guide by botany expert Dr. Scott Zona.

*2023 American Horticultural Society Award Winner*

A Gardener’s Guide to Botany is not just another book on how to grow plants. Instead, it’s a lushly illustrated botanical journey into what makes plants tick, delivered in layman’s terms that are easily understood and appreciated by both advanced gardeners and first-timers. It’s the chlorophyll-infused science behind the plants you know and love, whether you grow them indoors or out.

You’ll learn how different plant parts function (do you know what stomata are and why every leaf has hundreds of them?), the traits that separate plants from animals, and how through eons of evolution the plants we grow in our gardens and homes have developed a million different fascinating adaptations that allow them to survive and thrive. From their leaf shape and growth habit to how they have sex and metabolize the nutrients they absorb, A Gardener’s Guide to Botany covers it all in an accessible and thought-provoking way.

Divided into chapters based on what plants need to survive, some of the topics you’ll discover include:
 

• How plants convert water, air, and sunshine into roots, stems, leaves, and flowers through photosynthesis
• How plants react to their environment and  “know” when it’s right for supporting growth and reproduction
• How light can inhibit or facilitate chemical reactions in a plant 
• How plants access and use water and different nutrients, including through lifelong partnerships with other living organisms 
• How plants reproduce in some pretty ingenious ways, both with and without sex
• How plant genes are dispersed via seeds spread by wind, water, animals, or by the mechanics of the plant or the seed itself