A practical guide to growing all kinds of unusual plants – not the ordinary, good looking ones that most people choose to grow! Voodoo Lilies, Venus Fly Traps, Squirting Cucumbers and Abyssinian Bananas are just some of the exotic and dramatic-looking plants that you can grow quite simply and some of them even indoors by following this book’s instructions on planting and tending. Beyond the particular, the principles of home growing and the fun it gives are entertainingly introduced in this attractively illustrated book.
Everyone has a sneaking fascination for weird plants that don't behave like ordinary plants. This fascinating book shows how to grow some of them and see for yourself what they do. From cucumbers that shoot seeds and cabbages that grow into walking sticks, to venus fly traps that eat insects and giant echiums that look like alien spaceships, these are plants that will amaze - and they are so easy to grow. Detailed instructions on how to sow and look after these monsters of the plant world accompany step-by-step illustrations and fabulous photos of the mature plants to inspire anyone who can't resist getting to know them better. And some of the plants can be grown on patios or window sills too. Plants included: squirting cucumber, voodoo lily, Abyssinian banana, cardoon, walking stick cabbage, venus fly trap, pitcher plant, giant echium and lychee.
About Nicola Davies, Simon Hickmott, Clive Boursnell
NICOLA DAVIES worked for the BBC Natural History Unit for ten years as a researcher and presenter for a number of natural history programmes including The Really Wild Show, before becoming a freelance writer. For children she has written Big Blue Whale, Bat Loves the Night, One Tiny Turtle and Wild About Dolphins. Surprising Sharks was honoured in the non-fiction category of the Boston Globe-Horn Book awards. Poo: A Natural History of the Unmentionable was accompanied by an exhibition based on it at the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum. She lives near Exeter.
SIMON HICKMOTT is a gardener who has worked at Kew Gardens and for chef Raymond Blanc, and is the author of Growing Unusual Vegetables.
