Deni Bown

Deni Bown (born 1944) is a British author of more than a dozen books, photographer, botanist, horticulturist, and environmentalist. Her best known book is The Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses (1995; 2nd edition 2000). In 2002 she received the Gertrude B. Foster Award for Excellence in Herbal Literature from the Herb Society of America.

Quotes

• Undoubtedly the major edible aroids—taro, tannia (cocoyam), giant taro, swamp taro, elephant yam, and konjac—could play a more important part in the food production and economies of tropical countries if they received more attention from plant breeders and agronomists.
  • Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family (2nd ed.). Timber Press. 2000. p. 272. ISBN 9780881924855.  (392 pages; 1st edition 1988; 3rd edition 2025)

• The Hebrew name for myrtle is hadas, meaning 'sweetness', from which we get the girl's name Esther.
  Myrtle also symbolizes love. Its use in wedding bouquets may have come from ancient Greece and Rome or from the Middle-East. There is a tradition that the sprigs of myrtle in the bouquet should be planted in the newly weds' garden and if they root then the marriage will be a success.
  • Alba: The Book of White Flowers. Unwin Hyman. 1989. p. 46. ISBN 9780044403753.  (160 pages)

• When chosen for their color and texture, herbs need not look out of place among other garden plants. Popular garden plants, such as cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), bergamots, marigolds, and nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) are easily accommodated in a mixed border.
  • Garden Herbs. Eyewitness garden handbooks. New York: DK Publishing. 1998. p. 13. ISBN 9780789423979.  (176 pages)

4 Gardens in One (1992)

• There are only three botanic gardens in Great Britain which date back to the 17th century: Oxford (1621), Edinburgh (1670) and the Chelsea Physic Garden (1673). (Kew, the country's only other Royal Botanic Garden, began in 1759.)
  • 4 Gardens in One: The Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. H.M. Stationery Office. 1992. p. 2. ISBN 9780114942106.  (211 pages)

• An excellent teacher and a brilliant botanist with a wide range of interest, John Hope encouraged students to explore and record the Scottish flora, and awarded a gold medal annually for the best herbarium (collection of pressed plants).
  • p. 8

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Deni Bown on Wikipedia