FLOWERS

A long time ago in one Urals village there lived a famous craftsman named Prokopyich. He made jewelry and other things from malachite and was renowned as the best gem carver in the Urals. The rulers ordered him to teach some boys his profession, but none of them was talented enough.

At the same time an orphan named Danila lived in the village. He was weak and couldn't work at the factory. But he was full of dreams and liked to observe nature. Once he tried to help an old herdsman, but when he played his flute, the old shepherd felt asleep and several cattle were eaten by wolves. Danila and the herdsman were were severely punished.

A kind old woman took Danila into her house and healed him using many herbs and flowers. She taught him the lore of plants, and one day told him about the Stone Flower from Malachite Mountain. She told him it was the most beautiful flower in the world. But she also warned him, "Whoever finds that flower will never be happy."

After Danila recovered, the manager of the factory sent him to Prokopyich to study gem carving. He was surprisingly gifted. Prokopyich was a widow without children, and he loved the boy as if he were his own son. Several years passed. Danila became a strong, handsome young man.

One day the owner of the factory sent him a commission to make a vase from malachite, along with a sketch of what he wanted. Danila began the intricate task, but he was unsatisfied with the idea on the sketch. Every day he went to the woods looking for inspiration and observing many flowers and plants. He worked for a long time and at last completed a vase like the one in the sketch. When he showed it to the other craftsmen, they liked it and praised it. But Danila said, "This vase is made precisely according to the sketch, but there is no living beauty in it. When you look at the simplest flower, joy fills your heart because of its beauty. Where is there such beauty in the stone?"

One very old craftsman warned him, "Don't even think that way. Otherwise you could become a servant of the Mistress of Copper Mountain. Her workers live and work in the Mountain and nobody ever sees them. Once I was lucky enough to see their work. Magnificent! Our work can't compare with theirs, because they have seen the Stone Flower and understand the beauty of the stone."

After this conversation Danila went to the woods more often looking for a block of stone for his own vase. Prokopyich was worried about him and urged him to marry the nice girl named Katya to whom Danila was engaged. But Danila said, "I want to wait! First I need to make my own vase and then we will think about marriage.".

One day he was in the woods looking for stone and suddenly heard a whisper saying, "Danila-Craftsman, look for stone on Serpent Hill." He turned around and saw the dim outline of a woman, which vanished in a second. He thought, "Perhaps it was the Mistress of Copper Mountain!" So he went to Serpent Hill and found a huge block of malachite. He was very glad, took the stone home and started to carve the vase.

But soon again he was disappointed with the result and said sadly, "Maybe I am just not able to understand the power and the beauty of the stone." So he and Katya announced the date of their wedding. The day before the wedding he went for a walk to Serpent Hill again, sat down and thought about the Stone Flower. "How I desire to see that Flower!" he mused.

All a sudden the Mistress of Copper Mountain appeared before his eyes. Danila began to implore her: "There is no life for me without seeing that Flower!"

She replied, "I could show it to you, but afterwards you will regret it. Those who have seen my Flower have left their family and come to live in my mountain. Think about Prokopyich and Katya who love you."

"I know," shouted Danila, "but I must see it." "All right," she said. "Let's go then to my garden." So she took him and showed him the wonderful Stone Flower.

In the evening Danila came to the village. His fiancee Katya had a party the day before the wedding. At first he had fun, danced, and sang songs, but then he became sadder and sadder. To Katya's questions he replied that he had a headache. After the party he returned home, broke his vase and ran away.

The village was full of rumors after he disappeared, but no one knew where he had gone. Three years passed. Katya did not marry. After her parents died she came to live with old Prokopyich and helped him in his work. But soon Prokopyich died, too, and Katya lived on her own. She did not have any money, so she decided to try making some brooches.

She went to Serpent Hill hoping to find good pieces of stone. But at the hill she remembered her beloved Danila and wept. Suddenly she saw a beautiful piece of malachite. Katya took it home and tried to carve several brooches. She worked hard and well and her carving beautifully set off the natural patterns in the stone. Katya was happy when she sold her works to a merchant in the village. She thought, "My brooches are the best in his store. I was lucky finding that malachite. Maybe Danila helped me?"

She ran again to Serpent Hill looking for another good stone. But she thought again of Danila and burst into tears, sobbing, "Where are you, my beloved friend? Why did you leave me?" When Katya looked around it seemed to her she stood in an unfamiliar woods, and the mountain opened before her eyes. "Here is the magic mountain," she thought. "Maybe I could see my Danila."

When Katya looked down, she saw a man who looked just like Danila. The man raised his hands toward her. She wanted to jump down to him, but the vision disappeared. She told her relatives what she had seen but they did not believe her and decided that she must be ill.

The next day Katya ran to the hill hoping desperately to see Danila. Her sister followed her. Katya came to the same place and found herself in the magic woods. She started to call out, "Danila, where are you? Answer me!" The echo answered: "He is not here! He is not here!" Then suddenly the Mistress of Copper Mountain appeared and demanded, "Why did you come to my garden? If you need the stones, take what you wish and go away."

Brave Katya replied, "I don't need your dead stones. Give me my Danila back. You don't have the right to take another's fiance." The Mistress laughed. "Do you have any idea whom you are speaking to?" Katya cried out, "I am not blind, I know who you are. I am not afraid of you! Not at all! And I know that Danila wants to come back to me." The Mistress said, "All right, let him speak then."

At the same moment Katya saw Danila. The Mistress said, "You have to choose, Danila-Craftsman. If you go with her, you will forget everything you saw and learned in the mountain. If you want to stay here, you have to forget the rest of the world."

Danila sighed, "I am sorry. I can't forget the people I love. I think about Katya every minute of my life." The Mistress smiled and said, "All right, Danila. Go back home. And for your honesty and loyalty I will give you a present. You will not lose your knowledge that you have learned here. But do not tell people about the mountain. If somebody asks you where have you been, just say that you went away to improve your skill."

Katya and Danila returned home, filled with joy. Katya's sister could not find her in the woods and returned home. When she came into the house she saw Danila and Katya. She cried out, "Danila, where have you been?" Danila just smiled. "I went to study my craft with a master who lives far away. "Katya and Danila lived happily together for many years. He became known far and wide as the greatest carver in the Ural Mountains.

A Year of Flowers for the Bride

The bridal bouquet is a tradition in almost every culture on Earth. Year after year, millions of women walk down the aisle, each carrying a personalized blend of carefully selected, artfully assembled flowers. To ensure that one's bridal bouquet lives forever in the memories of all those who share the day, this exquisite book introduces 40 original arrangements to complement the wedding gown, celebrate a special theme, honor a treasured family custom-and keep shaky hands occupied.

Gorgeous photography showcases each season's variety and diversity of flowers in creations from the simple to the elaborate: daises with ivy for the June bride; a mid-summer bundle of fragrant herbs; mistletoe and roses for a Christmas Eve wedding; hydrangeas with glass beads and tiny sea shells for a seaside ceremony; an Asian fan with amaranthus and chrysanthemum for an autumn reception. With detailed directions for wiring, taping, using tools, and choosing and grooming flowers, leaves and ribbons, Bouquets enables every bride-to-be, mother, sister, and friend to recreate these designs-or inspire the florist to fashion the perfect handful of flowers for that special day.

Timeless Beauty

The Roses: Pierre-Joseph Redoute, 1759-1840 (Jumbo)

French flower painter Pierre-Joseph Redouté is regarded as one of the best of the botanical illustrators in the tradition of aristocratic patronage stretching back to the Renaissance. Between 1817 and 1824 he completed the three volumes of ³Les Roses,² his most celebrated work. This pocket-book includes 166 exquisitely reproduced plates and sports a new design and look in a bit of a departure from the jumbo volume of the same title

Exquisite!

Pierre-Joseph Redoute was the Audubon of flowers - particularly roses and lilies. His artwork is stunning and he depicts the various varieties of roses in immaculate detail. An absolutely gorgeous book!
For the lover of roses, any illustrated book by Pierre-Joseph Redoute will be a treasure to admire for years.

Oustanding volume

You don't have to be a connoisseur of lilies to appreciate these beautiful specimens. If you are a horticulturalist or just an art lover, this new book will fascinate you. Gathering all of the plates from Pierre-Joseph Redouté's original eight volumes (published between 1802 and 1816), The Lilies is not just a book about lilies, it's also a foray into the exacting and rare art of botanical illustration. Redouté is widely considered one of the best botanical illustrators in history. He was not only breathtakingingly skilled at transferring the natural world onto paper, but was also devoted to improving printing technology. Redouté's contributions to the art of botanical illustration are unequalled and his original printed work is highly collectible. The complete set of original volumes of The Lilies is currently valued at approximately $400,000.

For considerably less, you can have all of 486 of Redouté's lilies, beautifully reproduced on thick, creamy paper. THE LILIES is a botanical delight.

The definitive book for water gardeners!


All in color! Nothing adds tranquillity, movement, interest, and style to a garden like a water feature. But without the proper plantings, a garden's pond becomes little more than an oversized puddle. Packed with superb full-color photographs of thriving water gardens, this detailed manual will help you select, cultivate, and care for aquatic plants in your garden. Learn the basics of planting, fertilizing, propagating, caring for plants year-round, and controlling pests and disease. Then choose the plants that suit your water garden and your tastes. Extensive, fully illustrated directories list the commonly available submerged aquatic plants for ornamental ponds, floating aquatics and aquatics with floating leaves, hardy and tropical water lilies, lotuses, marginal aquatics, and water irises. For each plant you'll get its scientific and common names, a description of its appearance and habits, and important information on potting, growing, and propagation. This valuable resource will help ensure the success of your garden.



Gardener's Guide to Growing Orchids: A Complete Guide to Cultivation and Care


"I have 5 or 6 books on basic orchid care and this supasses all of them in depth of content. It is simple to understand and the pictures are breathtaking. More importantly, they examine every part of orchid care, not just the basic air, light, water. There are detailed instructions on how to hybridize your own orchids, which I have only seen before in costly advanced books. I feel this book is an excellent resource for the beginner who has an orchid or two and wishes to know more. It's a handy reference for "just the basics" as well."