In searching for a way to introduce this section, I cannot do better than Gordon Stables in his introduction to "Among the Wildflowers": "All the way, in pleasant summers, the wild flowers are constantly with us. They drape the hedges; they hang like garlands over the very trees; they carpet the sward on each side of old-fashioned country roads; they bloom on banks; they play at hide and seek with the bees and butterflies, in ditches or by fences; they creep over old ruins, and beautify many a crumbling wall; they float on ponds; they nod over brooklets; they even behave like veritable 'spooks' and 'spunkies,' leading one far astray over moorlands and marshlands, and seeming to laugh when the weary wight has lost his way. Surely everyone loves the wild flowers. There can be neither poetry nor music nor sunshine either in the soul of that man or woman who does not." Need I say more?

Flowers and Botanical Notes, by W.S. Coleman (Illustrated London Almanack, 1856)

Popular Flowers of the Seasons (Illustrated London Almanack, 1858)

A six-month overview of seasonal flowers.

Flowers: Four Seasons (Illustrated London Almanack, 1866)

Children and Flowers (Illustrated London Almanack, 1867-1868)

An interesting series that symbolically pairs children with flowers - e.g., "Ragged Robin & Lily of the Valley/Poverty & Riches." Each issue gives four beautiful color prints of the paired flowers, then prints of the "corresponding" children.

The Mistletoe (Demorest, 1874)

The Flora of the Swiss Alps, by Mrs. Lizzie Lewis (Demorest, 1879)

Stars of the Earth, or, Our Country Flowers (Girl's Own Paper, 1880)

A month-by-month guide to the wildflowers of the English countryside.

Our Country Flowers: October (Girl's Own Paper, 1881)

Monkshood, by C.E. Meetkerke (Argosy, 1882)

Notes in Spring (Girl's Own Paper, 1882)

A look at England's spring wildflowers.

"Of All Flouris the Floure" (Girl's Own Paper, 1882)

A short piece on daisies.

Wanderings Among Our Wildflowers, by Cotsford Dick (Girl's Own Paper, 1882)

A Glance at British Wildflowers, by John Burroughs (Century Magazine, 1884B)

Flowers and Perfumes, by Gordon Stables (Girl's Own Paper, 1885)

"Lords and Ladies" (Girl's Own Paper, 1885)

On identifying the arum or "cuckoo-plant."

Wonderful Plants, by Frederick Whymper (Girl's Own Paper, 1885)

On exotic flowers and plants.

Among the Wild-Flowers, by John Burroughs (Century Magazine, 1887B)

Among the Wildflowers, by Gordon Stables (Girl's Own Paper, 1889)

Flowers of the Oberland (Girl's Own Paper, 1889)

Wildflowers of Switzerland.

A Midnight Ramble, by William Hamilton Gibson (Harper's Monthly, 1889A)

A look at flowers that bloom by night.

Botanical Name-Words (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1890)

Calvary Clover (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

Meadowsweet, or, The Queen of the Meadows, by James Mason (Girl's Own Paper, 1891)

Glimpses of Nature: Marriage Among the Clovers,* by Grant Allen (The Strand, 1897B)

Eccentric Flowers, by Eliza Brightwen (Girl's Own Paper, 1901)

Plant Treasures from Moor and Marsh, by Eliza Brightwen (Girl's Own Paper, 1901)

*See Grant Allen's Nature Series for the complete "In Nature's Workshop", "Glimpses of Nature" and "Moorland Idylls" series.

See also

• Plants

• Folklore: Plants and Flowers