If Petals Could Fly

Given that we spend more and more time disconnected from the environment, it’s perhaps no surprise that having our hands in the soil and our eyes on the sky are increasingly popular points of connection to the natural world. According to Statistics Canada, 61 percent of Canadian households grow plants, whether in their yards or on their balconies; 26 percent have purchased bird-feeding supplies; and 11 percent participate in birding or nature photography. With hobbies come books, as my bookshelves will attest. A quick, slightly sobering count shows that I own about sixty-six on gardens and gardening and close to fifty on birds, fifteen of which are field guides. Of course, that’s just a slice of the thousands of titles out in the world on these topics, so it’s reasonable to ask if we need two more. In this case, I would say yes. Two recent publications have found a way to reimagine what books on gardens and gardening, on birds and birding can be.

Christin Geall is a...