Every year around this time, dedicated gardeners tear open packets of seeds and carefully bury them in the rich soil of their gardens, where, months later, they emerge as beautiful flowers, delectable herbs, and nutritious vegetables. All from those tiny, unimpressive seeds …
With An Orchard Invisible, Jonathan Silvertown finally gives the humble seed its due. His richly anecdotal natural history begins with the first appearance of seeds—which evolved from fernlike ancestors nearly 400 million years ago—and from there spans the globe and traverses epochs all the way to the present. Deftly marrying science and culture, Silvertown explores the evolution of seeds and the wide variety of uses to which humans have put them over the centuries, from spices to perfumes, dyes to pharmaceuticals. Along the way, he delves into such unexpected topics as the Salem witch trials and Lyme disease, while never losing sight of the real story behind all the world of seeds: the constant drive of evolution, with its irrepressible habit of stumbling upon new and better solutions to the challenges of life on earth.Writing with winning charm and an eye for unforgettable details, Silvertown has crafted a book sure to delight gardeners and science buffs alike.
Read the press release.
Also, read an excerpt and see the author’s website.