Beatrix Potter’s Botanical by Marta McDowell

#BeatrixPottersBotanical #NetGalley

A while back, I saw a wonderful exhibit on Potter at the Morgan Library. In addition to her beloved book characters, this show emphasized her love of nature. At that time, I learned about Hill Top Farm and I so looked forward to seeing it in these pages. I was also curious because the author works at a garden that I often visit. (nybg.org)

This title is organized alphabetically. It begins with apple and ends with water lily. In between are numerous other botanical treats. For each entry, there is artwork and text. There is also information in this book about Beatrix’s upbringing which was atypical for the time in which she lived. I loved seeing the photos of her and her family. Readers also learn about her later life, marriage and the purchase of her land in the Lake District.

This book is just so beautiful. Highly recommended for garden lovers and fans of Beatrix Potter.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Timber Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 13 October 2026

Description:

from the publisher

A rare collection of Beatrix Potter’s own botanical art, and an exploration of the role these plants played in her personal and literary life.

Beatrix Potter’s Botanical collects and showcases 65 plants and fungi that Beatrix Potter made special study of in her often-overlooked career as a botanical artist. For each species we see Potter’s original pencil and watercolor renderings, learn about the specimen’s role in her various beloved gardens, and hear the stories of how it inspired or appeared in her literary work. The result is a new look at the celebrated illustrator as a pioneering botanical artist and budding scientist. Beatrix Potter is a beloved author and illustrator and this gorgeous exploration of her work will appeal to a wide array of fans. 

About the author:

Marta McDowell teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden. Her latest book is Unearthing The Secret Garden, about the inspiration for the children’s classic. Timber Press also published Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life, The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, All the Presidents’ Gardens, and Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life, now in its eighth printing. She is working on a new book about plant and gardening themes in crime fiction, due out in 2023.

Marta is the 2019 recipient of the Garden Club of America’s Sarah Chapman Francis Medal for outstanding literary achievement. She likes to read, knit, and garden. Her husband, Kirke Bent, summarizes her biography as “I am therefore I dig.”