About the Book
'I love everything Amy Stewart has ever created, but this book is my favourite yet. I'm giving this book to everyone I know. Because it, like its subject, is a gift.' - Elizabeth Gilbert
Fifty gorgeously illustrated vignettes of remarkable people whose lives have been transformed by their passion for trees, from Amy Stewart, New York Times bestselling author of The Drunken Botanist.
When Amy Stewart discovered a community of tree collectors, she expected to meet horticultural fanatics driven to plant every species of oak or maple. But she also discovered that the urge to collect trees springs from deeper, more profound motives, such as a longing for community, a vision for the future, or a path to healing and reconciliation.
In this slyly humorous, informative, often poignant volume, Stewart brings us fifty captivating stories of people who spend their lives in pursuit of rare and wonderful trees and are transformed in the process. Vivian Keh has forged a connection to her Korean elders through her persimmon orchard. The former poet laureate W. S. Merwin planted a tree almost every day for more than three decades, until he had turned a barren estate into a palm sanctuary. And Joe Hamilton cultivates pines on land passed down to him by his once-enslaved great-grandfather, building a legacy for the future.
Stewart populates this lively compendium with her own watercolour portraits of these extraordinary people and their trees, side trips to investigate famous tree collections, arboreal glossaries, and even tips for 'unauthorised' forestry. This book is a stunning tribute to a devoted group of nature lovers making their lives-and the world-more beautiful, one tree at a time.
"These mesmerizing trees, and the inspiring people they've transformed, will alter your perspective and give you hope."-Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees
'The mix of history, culture, science and skilled storytelling, interspersed with Amy's delightful watercolour illustrations, makes for an engrossing read.' Gardening Australia
'In this slyly humorous, informative, often poignant volume, Stewart brings us fifty captivating stories of people who spend their lives in pursuit of rare and wonderful trees and are transformed in the process.' Bella Mackey, Readings
'After spending time in this varied commonwealth, you'll undoubtedly experience an intense desire to recline under the shade of a leafy canopy. But something even more profound is happening here: by creating a space for people to talk about something they love, Stewart made me feel more tender-hearted toward my fellow humans.' Scientific American
"What a gift! The Tree Collectors takes us on a whirlwind planetary journey into the wondrously entangled life of people and plants. With this book, Amy Stewart shows us how we are all related to one another, through trees."-Katie Holten, author of The Language of Trees
"Reading The Tree Collectors feels like sitting down and having the best kind of coffee date with one fascinating person after another. No matter your arboreal experience or expertise, you will learn something, while feeling uplifted by Stewart's own thoughtful and bright botanical illustrations."-Kathryn Aalto, author of Writing Wild
About the Author :
Amy Stewart is the New York Times best-selling author of The Drunken Botanist, Wicked Plants, and several other popular nonfiction titles about the natural world. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Review :
‘These delightful, quirky, moving stories testify to a powerful urge to bring the wild wisdom of trees back into our lives.’
‘A beautiful mix of love letters to trees and practical tree facts. Amy Stewart is as curious about people as she is about trees.’
‘I love everything Amy Stewart has ever created, but this book is my favourite yet. I’m giving this book to everyone I know. Because it, like its subject, is a gift.’
'These mesmerising trees, and the inspiring people they’ve transformed, will alter your perspective and give you hope.'
'A whirlwind planetary journey into the wondrously entangled lives of people and plants... Amy Stewart shows us how we are all related to one another, through trees.'
'Blue gum eucalyptus, maples, ginkgoes, mangos, flowering cherries...With graceful prose and tender watercolours, Amy Stewart’s arboreal global tour explores the fragility and resilience of Earth’s great canopy and ushers readers into the hidden groves and lush forests where the world’s most dedicated gardeners plant the landscape of the future.'
'Like the brushstrokes in the fine paintings alongside them, Stewart’s vignettes add up to something more: a powerful portrait of the human passion for plants and a paean to what the plants give back.'
'A delightfully offbeat book about a group of people as diverse as the specimens they collect, The Tree Collectors will take root in your consciousness and nurture your soul.'
'Reading this feels like sitting down and having the best kind of coffee date with one fascinating person after another.'
'A warm and brilliant mural of life that tells a larger story about humanity: our desires, our losses, our salvation, and our place on a beautiful living planet during a time of immense challenges.'
‘After spending time in this varied commonwealth, you’ll undoubtedly experience an intense desire to recline under the shade of a leafy canopy. But something even more profound is happening here: by creating a space for people to talk about something they love, Stewart made me feel more tender-hearted toward my fellow humans.’
‘While we tree collectors need little encouragement, reading this book will make us feel more normal.’
‘An inspirational guide to those who love trees and grow them for a reason.’
‘Delightful.’
‘In this slyly humorous, informative, often poignant volume, Stewart brings us fifty captivating stories of people who spend their lives in pursuit of rare and wonderful trees and are transformed in the process.’
‘The mix of history, culture, science and skilled storytelling, interspersed with Amy’s delightful watercolour illustrations, makes for an engrossing read.’
‘Delightful…I happily wandered from one of Stewart’s charming and vivid stories to another, much like I meander from tree to tree in the woods…A charming, browsable book that’s filled with the colour and surprise of an actual forest.’
‘[I was] charmed, moved, comforted and inspired as I read on. Amongst other things, this book is a source of information, a rallying cry for conservationists and, for tree folk, a gateway into a world of like-minded spirits…The act of reading this book is to find yourself among friends.’
