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The Cabaret of Plants
The Cabaret of Plants: Botany and the Imagination | Richard Mabey
17 posts | 3 read | 4 reading | 12 to read
In Richard Mabey's characteristically lyrical and informative tone, The Cabaret of Plants explores plant species which have challenged our imaginations, awoken that clichd but real human emotion of wonder, and upturned our ideas about history, science, beauty and belief. Picked from every walk of life, they encompass crops, weeds, medicines, religious gathering-places and a water lily named after a queen. Beginning with pagan cults and creation myths, the cultural significance of plants has burst upwards, sprouting into forms as diverse as the panacea (the cure-all plant ginseng, a single root of which can cost up to $10,000), Newton's apple, the African 'vegetable elephant' or boabab, whose swollen trunks store thousands of litres of water - and the mystical, night-flowering Amazonian cactus, the moonflower. From Ice Age artists, to the Romantic poets, via colonialism and the nineteenth century botanical mania of empire, Mabey concludes his magnum opus with the latest revelations of possible 'plant intelligence' in this extraordinary collection of encounters between plants and people.
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bookwyrm7
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This is a gorgeous photograph by the late Tony Evans, the photographer mentioned by Richard Mabey in the second chapter. I wish there were more of his photographs in the book (there's only one), especially some of those he talked about in depth.
But I found some of his work here: https://www.tonyevans-timelapse.com/landscape
Let me know if you find his photo of the ancient decaying pine with marigolds, I'd love to see it.
#Naturalitsy #photography

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bookwyrm7
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To answer my last post:
“Then he went to the moors of Inverness-shire and brought home a photograph of an ancient pine stump (...) heraldically studded with five marsh marigold flowers, kingcups rampant. They were rooted in damp crevices and pits in the rotting wood, portals into the boggy northern past, and Tony had achieved what he always insisted photography was incapable of, showing something that was not there.“
#Naturalitsy

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bookwyrm7
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“If photography can stop time, freeze it, representational painting contains it, not just because its making takes time, and therefore incorporates it, but because it can hint at what might have gone before and might come after. Might it be possible for the photograph of a plant to have something of this painterly quality, and record not just an isolated moment but suggest the organism's past and the invisible dynamics of its life? “
#Naturalitsy

AllDebooks Isn't it remarkable? This is the opposite of what I was expecting and I love it even more than I thought I would 2h
bookwyrm7 @AllDebooks as the daughter of a nature photographer who helped her dad take pictures of plants outdoors many times growing up, this chapter was an absolute delight! 2h
4 likes2 comments
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AllDebooks
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#Hyggehour is starting to turn into #Hyggehours now that the dark, wintery nights are here. Are you extending your hour too?

Tea, toasty warm under blankets and lost in tales of discovery are the best tonic to a cold, blustery day.

@Chrissyreadit @TheBookHippie

Chrissyreadit 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 1d
AnnCrystal 😍💝. 1d
kspenmoll Starting at usual time tonight but in bed!!!! 22h
41 likes3 comments
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AllDebooks
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My #weekendreads include #buddyreads for #NaturaLitsy and #hashtagbrigade plus a creepy folk horror, which I can not stop reading. 😊
@rachelsbrittain

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kspenmoll
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54 years ago is a blink of an eye in the world of trees & other plants. #naturalitsy

TheBookHippie My grandma would always say “the trees know… “ 4d
kspenmoll @TheBookHippie Your grandma was so amazing-❤️ 2d
44 likes1 stack add2 comments
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DebinHawaii
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Thank you @TheSpineView for the #Two4Tuesday tag! 🤗

1️⃣ Gonna have to go with spots but small-medium polka dot ones. 🔵

2️⃣ Yes! I have the 6 pictured currently checked out, 4 e-books & 2 print books, including the tagged. 📚

Anyone want to join in who has not yet! Consider yourself tagged! 🤗

TheSpineView Wow, that is a lot of books! Thanks for playing! 6d
38 likes1 comment
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AllDebooks
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#Naturalitsy November #buddyread

For the love of endpapers, these are magnificent 😍
🎨 Prismatic Pictures/Bridgeman Images

Bookwormjillk 😍😍😍 1w
Lunakay I got that on my shelf too, might join in this month!🪴 1w
Lunakay Could you add me to the tag list please? 1w
See All 8 Comments
AllDebooks @Lunakay you're more than welcome. Here's a link to the last 2 books of the year. Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist. I'm just working on next year's list now. 🙂 https://litsy.com/p/UUJ1NldLMkpz 1w
AllDebooks @Lunakay lol, beat me to it 😅 1w
AmyG I love this! 1w
Lunakay @AllDebooks Thanks!🥰 1w
kspenmoll Gorgeous! 1w
39 likes8 comments
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AllDebooks
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Joining in #5JoysFriday as I've struggled to find joy this week, like a lot of folks.
1) Rediscovering old photos back when the teens were littlies. 🥹😍
2) Taking refuge in books to hide from the real world for a bit.
3) A nice cup of coffee ☕️
4) Peace and quiet before schools out for the weekend, and we start off the weekend with a family horror movie night. 🎬
5) #NaturaLitsy Nov #buddyread is just wonderful. (Tagged)

@DebinHawaii

AmyG Yeah, finding joys wasn‘t easy. But we need to always look for them and find them. 1w
AnnCrystal 💝💝💝💝💝. 1w
dabbe 🧡🍁🤎 1w
kspenmoll I found joy inn nature- this prompt helped me to find some much needed joy this week 💖💖💖 1w
33 likes5 comments
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Vansa
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#Naturalitsy @alldebooks this is so fascinating. So like all art, even how we interpret cave art says more about us than about the motives of the artists

AllDebooks Mabey is one of my favourite nature writers. 2w
Vansa @AllDebooks first I'm. Reading by him!Any others you recommend? 2w
Vansa @AllDebooks thank you, will look these up too 2w
14 likes4 comments
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Vansa
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#Naturalitsy @alldebooks read the deeply charming and informative introduction and already in love with a book that starts off with Edward Lear's whimsical plants, that indicate his interest in actual botany.

AllDebooks I think this book is going to be a #NaturaLitsy favourite, for sure. You can't beat a but of Lear to put a smile on your face. 🙂 2w
16 likes1 comment
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LitsyEvents
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Repost for @AllDebooks

#Naturalitsy

Only 2 books remaining this year!! Our November #buddyread is Mabey's The Cabaret of Plants, exploring the encounters between people and plants.
All welcome to join us. Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

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AllDebooks
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#Naturalitsy

Only 2 books remaining this year!! Our November #buddyread is Mabey's The Cabaret of Plants, exploring the encounters between people and plants.
All welcome to join us. Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the taglist.

@LitsyEvents

Cuilin Definitely in for this one 3w
BookwormAHN I've been looking forward to this one. 3w
Vansa Definitely joining this one. 2w
AllDebooks @Cuilin @BookwormAHN @Vansa 😍 I'm excited for this one. Mabey is one of my favourite nature writers 2w
vonnie862 Got my copy! 2w
29 likes5 comments
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BookwormAHN
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Thank you so much @julieclair These gifts are fantastic. The spoon is so cute and I love the candles. I have been really wanting The Cabaret of Plants and I can't wait to read it and Garden Spells.
#NaturalitsyWinterSwap #NLWS
@AllDebooks @TheBookHippie @Chrissyreadit @jenniferw88

tpixie @julieclair @BookwormAHN what thoughtful and lovely bookish gifts! 10mo
AllDebooks What a beautiful selection of gifts x 10mo
Mitch That spoon is gorgeous ♥️ 10mo
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TheBookHippie Oh my that‘s beautiful!!! 10mo
jenniferw88 I loved Garden Spells! 10mo
wanderinglynn Ooh, I love Sarah Addison Allen‘s books! 💚 10mo
julieclair I‘m so glad you‘re happy! 💙 I love how we each gave each other tea! 🫖 10mo
57 likes7 comments
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stacybmartin
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Oooh look at what I finally hit today! Slowly but surely making my way up the Litsy Litfluence Mountain. This place is the absolute best of the entire internet. Thank you all for letting me join in on the fun! 🎉📚💜🎉

Libby1 Yippee!!! ❤️📚❤️ 7y
Mommamanzi Wow!!! Great job! 7y
Jess7 Congrats!!! 7y
See All 23 Comments
CoverToCoverGirl Congrats! 🎊🎉😎 7y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks YAy!!! 🍾🎉❤️📚 7y
rubyslippersreads 🎉📚🎉📚🎉🎉🎉🌟 7y
Jas16 Yay!!🎉📚👏 7y
DarcysMom Wow! CONGRATULATIONS! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 7y
GypsyKat Congratulations!🎊🎈🍾🎉 7y
monkeygirlsmama Impressive! Congrats 👏🙌🥂 7y
DGRachel Congrats!🎉🎉🍾🎉🎉 7y
rachelm Hooray!!! 7y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Yay! 🎉🎉📚📚👏🏻👏🏻 7y
Redwritinghood 🎉🎉🎉🎉 7y
JessClark78 Congrats! 🎉🎉📚🎊 7y
ReadingSusan 👏🏻👏🏻🎊🎉🔥🙌🏻 7y
kspenmoll Fantastic! 👏👏🎉🎉💃🏼💃🏼📚 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Congrats! 😃🎊💃🏻 7y
Kalalalatja Congratulations! 🎉🎉 7y
LeahBergen 🎉🎉🎉🎉 7y
Shemac77 Congratulations!! 7y
ValerieAndBooks Congrats!! 📚🎉📚🎊 7y
69 likes23 comments
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elkeOriginal
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Ah, thanks for the lovely number today, my beautiful book nerds! Life would suck without you 😊

And my gift to you is a bunch of flowers pics from my mom's garden 💕🌸🌷🌺💕📚🌿📚

britt_brooke Yay! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 8y
ScorpioBookDreams Congratulations!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 8y
TrishB 🎉😀👍 8y
See All 19 Comments
Kalalalatja Yay! 👏👏 8y
TrishB 🎉😀👍 8y
Bklover Woohoo!!! Congratulations 🌺🌸🌺🌸🌺🌸 8y
Jas16 Yay!!!🎉👏📚 8y
Redwritinghood 🎉🎉🎉🎉 8y
julesG Congratulations! 👏🎉🎉🎉🎉 8y
CherylDeFranceschi Yay! Congrats! 🎉📚🎉 8y
Sarah83 Congrats 😍🎉📚 8y
Soubhiville Sweet! Iris are my favorite flower 😊. So pretty! 8y
moranadatter Congrats!🎉🎂 8y
kylienoele 🎉🎉🥂💖💖 8y
JessClark78 Congrats!!! 🎉🎊🎊📚 8y
LeahBergen 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 8y
Dragon 😀👍🎉💐 8y
hes7 Yay! 🎉 8y
MyNamesParadise Congrats!! 8y
58 likes19 comments
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shawnmooney
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I don't want to read this, particularly, but I'm delighted to hear that it exists!

WanderingBookaneer I want to read it! Maybe @Figgy would too. 8y
Lindy I've dipped in and out of this one. It's full of interesting stuff and I like his writing style. 8y
38 likes5 stack adds2 comments