Bobby J. Ward – författare

Gardening enthusiasts and those who love to read about gardening will be delighted by this new collection of Elizabeth Lawrence's work. A gifted landscape architect and writer, Lawrence (1904-85) chronicled her experiences with plants in a voice treasured for its distinctive blend of horticultural expertise and stylistic elegance. Through her six books, all still in print, Lawrence continues to inspire an ever-widening circle of dedicated readers everywhere. Between 1932 and 1978, Lawrence wrote more than fifty articles for gardening magazines, newsletters, and plant society bulletins. These writings--uncovered in a seven-year search and collected here for the first time--offer further testament to her talent for conveying practical details in an engaging, literate manner. Treating such subjects as trees and shrubs, bulbs, perennials, native plants, even fellow gardeners, this collection will be welcomed by the novice and knowledgeable gardener alike. Elizabeth Lawrence, a graduate of Barnard College, was the first woman to receive a degree in landscape architecture from the North Carolina State College School of Design. Her writings were informed and inspired by her own legendary gardens in Raleigh and Charlotte.

This is a perfect bedside book for the literate gardener and makes a terrific gardener's gift book. It is an entertaining survey of 80 plant genera, with a multitude of references to, and extracts from, myth and literature from Shakespeare to the Victorian language of flowers. Based on prodigious research, it includes much literature that has fallen into undeserved obscurity, as well as selections from the great poets. It is a delightful study of the influence of the world's flora on humanity, from the mundane to the mystical. This book is only available through print on demand. All interior art is black and white.

J. C. Raulston, described by the New York Times upon his untimely death as “a generous-spirited giant among horticulturists,” changed the availability of plants in North Carolina, the South, and beyond. Bobby J. Ward, the foremost authority on Raulston’s life, offers a portrait of the legendary figure that will captivate general readers, amateur gardeners, and horticulturists alike.Chlorophyll in His Veins chronicles Raulston’s life from his Oklahoma boyhood, through his horticultural education, army service in Vietnam, research and teaching, and experiences as a gay man. It also includes his greatest achievements: the establishment of the arboretum at North Carolina State University in Raleigh (now bearing his name), the creation of a free plant distribution system for the nursery industry, and the mentorship of some of today’s most prominent horticulturists. The fraught personal life revealed in Raulston’s journals and letters contrasts with his outgoing public persona, reflecting the influences and pressures that produced his triumphs and heartbreaks. This book includes lists of Raulston’s honors and excerpts from his lectures, plant introductions, and personal writings that illuminate the care, passion, and dedication that Raulston brought to his mantra: “Plan—and plant for a better world.”