"With Paintbrush and Shovel showcases the botanical watercolors of Bessie Niemeyer Marshall, a Virginia artist who received scant recognition during her lifetime. Reproduced for the first time in this volume, Marshall's beautiful paintings are the primary surviving record of a unique WPA project that put women to work creating a wildflower sanctuary in Petersburg, Virginia, during the 1930s. Nancy Kober affectingly recounts the story of this fascinating...

Charles Darwin is best known for his work on the evolution of animals, but a large part of his scientific study and writing was devoted to plants. This book gathers key excerpts from these lesser-known works for the first time. Each of the 45 short chapters focuses on a different plant species, with Darwin's words about his methods, observations, and conclusions, alongside authoritative interpretation from evolutionary biologist and acclaimed Darwin...