The National Post Loves The Untamed Garden

The Untamed Garden | National Post
“Positively pornographic.” That’s how Sonia Day describes the coco de mer, “the most erotically charged plant on the planet.” Detail is given, but it’s unsuitable to print here (see Page 197 of the book). This is a delightfully lusty look at many plants that we innocents assumed were just sitting there soaking up the sun. Turns out they’re sitting there scheming for sex. Don’t say you haven’t noticed, say, orchids, with their “titillating tongues and tight little crevices,” or the amaryllis, “so cocky, so lusty.” The tale of the mandrake (pictured, left) and a medieval nun is a must-read. The whole book is. ? The Untamed Garden: A Revealing Look at our Love Affair with Plants, by Sonia Day, McClelland & Stewart