Wednesday, March 23, 2011

A few fun illustrations…

I’ve been collecting these fun plant images from books I own, the library and online. The first one that caught my eye, years ago, was this one...Plant Parenthood. Or in some places it’s called Practicing Plant Parenthood. I’ve never seen the actual book, only the cover online. I should really order a copy and see what this plant parenthood thing is all about!

This one: The Punctured Thumb or, Cactus and Other Succulents is one I own. I found it at a used book store in Tacoma, WA, and was immediately drawn in by the author describing his mother’s cactus collection and how it regularly injured him. Lord knows I sometimes come in from a day of gardening looking like an addict with my arms all cut and punctured. I could relate.

This image my husband found online and sent to me, it made me think of my friend Denise who regularly asks how my plant friends are doing. This one is from The Cat in the Hat…’Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry’, Illustrated by Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu. I saw it at the library when I stopped to pick up a couple of books on hold; someone had put this book on display in the children’s area. Naturally I had to check it out and went home and read it from cover to cover. In case you can’t read it the text…

“The Sonoran Desert is where we will find a very big cactus that’s one of a kind!

It’s called the saguaro, and I have been told it can grow to be over two hundred years old. (small sign in the lower left reads “suh-War-oh”)

A cactus, you see, has deep pleats in its skin, but they will expand when the water flower flows in.

It soaks up the water and then quickly swells. Like a sponge, it stores water in some of its cells.” (the purple sign reads “Sharp spines protect it. Just how do they do it? They make sure some animals won’t try to chew it”)

Silly fun.

This one is all about the graphics. So stylish! (image borrowed from the blog A Sense of Place via Paradis Express) I want that middle cactus...along with it's fabulous HUGE orange blossom.

9 comments:

  1. the pleading potted plant is my favourite
    heartbreakingly cute.

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  2. I think The punctured thumb is mine favourite.

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  3. Greetings from Southern California :-)

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  4. Here are a couple more exciting titles for you.

    http://www.amazon.com/What-Kinda-Cactus-Izzat-Desert/dp/B000JLN9MQ

    http://www.amazon.com/Plants-Kenneth-McKenney/dp/0553198289/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1300938648&sr=1-1

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  5. those are all so cool! they all convey a different sense of place and time--namely nostalgia! my fave is that last one. you are right, all about the graphics! fun collection.

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  6. What a fun post! I have seen these covers and the "all my friends are dead" book separately but it's fun to see it all together.

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  7. ellie T and Spiky O...glad you enjoyed.

    Old Geezer - uhm, thanks?

    Ian....yay! Thank you, I love these! I feel an amazon order coming on.

    Laguna, thank you, you're comment reminds me to go back and look up that textile designer you featured.

    RFG, you should check out Ian's recommendations too!

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  8. That last one is such high 50s or 60s graphic design. Very cool. I remember being addicted to Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series and one of the characters owned a nursery called Plant Parenthood. That would be the 1970s. I wonder which came first, your first book or the wonderful soap opera I got pulled into...

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  9. I love that parenthood one! And linking the punctured thumb to my BF who's parent's garden likes to bit him ;)

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