Flower Watching - by Robin Lee Carlson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Step outside with naturalist and artist Robin Lee Carlson to take a closer look at the colorful and fragrant flowers that blossom all around us.

With vibrant illustrations, Carlson transports readers into the world of flowers, inspiring budding naturalists to cultivate their curiosity and deepen their appreciation for the amazing variety of blooming plants. Using her inviting nature journal-inspired illustrations, she beckons readers to:

• Look closely at the shapes, colors, and structures of flowers and how they affect pollination.
• Recognize the characteristics of different flower families.
• Consider the many habitats in which flowers grow.

With simple observation prompts, colorful and curious explorations, and sidebars on how to draw flowers in the field, Flower Watching offers an accessible and joyful introduction to the botanical wonder of flowers.

Review Quotes

"A call to learn about, draw, enjoy, and protect the complex ecosystem in which the world of plants is involved."--Clare Walker Leslie, author of Keeping a Nature Journal

"A gorgeous book, full of invitations to awaken our senses, open our imaginations, and let our creativity blossom. From wild spaces to edges of asphalt, the rich relationships between flowers and other beings come alive in these pages, as does the wondrous diversity of floral form. I highly recommend Robin Lee Carlson's stunning work to all who seek to deepen their connection with flowers and the living Earth."--David George Haskell, author of How Flowers Made our World

"Gorgeous, vibrant, and heart-warming! This book helped me connect with flowers in a whole new way. I was invited to slow down, notice more, and paint as a form of relationship. Will you accept the invitation?"--Lila Higgins, Wild L.A. author and Director of Education & Horticulture at the California Native Plant Society

"Through the eyes of a botanist, every moment, every weed, every flower is a gift. Flower Watching: A Field Sketcher's Guide to the Lives of Blooming Plants is a love letter to the beauty, wonder, and joy we experience when we slow down and focus our attention on plants around us. This awakening is accessible to everyone everywhere. You do not need to visit a wild or remote area. The gifts are accessible in vacant lots, grocery stores, gardens, and wild spaces near you."--John Muir Laws, artist, naturalist, author, and educator.

This is a book to savor. With a naturalist's eye and an artist's hand, Robin Lee Carlson reveals the richness waiting in every bloom for those who pause to look. --Stephen Buchmann, author of What a Bee Knows

About the Author

Robin Lee Carlson is a writer and natural science illustrator, building careful observations of the natural world into deeper commentary on ecology and climate change. Her work centers on field sketching ecoreportage, living documentation of the ever-accelerating transformation of ecosystems by human activity. Her first book, The Cold Canyon Fire Journals, was published in 2022 by Heyday, and her work has also appeared in The Common, the literary journal of Amherst College, and in Arnoldia, the magazine of the Harvard University Arboretum. She has taught workshops that combine drawing, painting, and natural science at the past four Wild Wonder Nature Journaling Conferences, as well as up and down the Pacific Coast.