Familiar Flowers of Field and Garden

Naturalist and artist F. Schuyler Mathews observes, "Time progresses and the botanist changes his opinion but the wildflower never changes, and with a little help we can recognize our flower." In this delightful guide to wild and cultivated flowers, Matthews offers a treasury of poetic descriptions that reveal the blossoms' proper names, from violets and pansies to the common thistle and the Jerusalem artichoke.
Mathews based his accurate and lyrical accounts on observations from his wanderings throughout the New England countryside. Organized by season and illustrated by more than 200 of the author's handsome engravings, these reflections state the flowers' color varieties as well as the length of their bloom cycles — plus "a little friendly gossip based on personal experience." A Systematical Index and a Floral Calendar provide quick and easy references.

Illustrator and author Ferdinand Schuyler Mathews (1854–1938) was educated at New York's Cooper Institute and augmented his art education with travels in Italy. His books include Familiar Trees and Their Leaves, The Field Book of American Wild Flowers, and Field Book of Wild Birds and Their Music.