Book list
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Photographer and writer Michaels invites readers to turn the garden into a creative studio, showing how everyday natural materials can become art. Rocks, leaves, and flowers become starting points once readers learn how to truly notice and ethically forage for them based on Michael's thoughtful guidance. Pressed flowers are a central focus, with clear instructions for drying botanicals, including a microwave method and a simple DIY flower press. Michaels expands beyond pressing, offering creative techniques such as cyanotype printing, frozen floral still lifes, Mod Podge collage, and projects using twine and glue. Each idea is supported by the author's own full-color photographs, sparking curiosity and experimentation. In general, photography plays an important role in these crafts. Tips help readers capture images, make basic edits, and even turn collage photos into digital art, extending the creative process. Practical advice on tools, supplies, adhesives, and working with print suppliers helps set realistic expectations, including the reminder that natural materials will continue to change over time. Michaels leaves readers encouraged to explore playful new ways of making art with nature.

Publishers Weekly
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Photographer Michaels (The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables) delivers a stellar guide to creating artworks with materials from nature. Noting her instructions are not a blueprint for a precise outcome but inspiration for pursuing one’s own vision, she encourages readers to “try the processes that appeal to you and run with them.” Before embarking on the projects, she offers tips for foraging and collecting botanicals, reminding readers to only use what they need and to be careful not to “smush plants on your way to the chosen one.” Projects include pressing dried flowers to create floral collages on paper or rocks, freezing flowers in unique arrangements to capture photos or make ice buckets, and making papier-mâché lanterns adorned with fall leaves. Crafters also learn how to make botanical-inspired cyanotypes (a sunlight-activated printing process that produces blue and white images); air-dried clay creations, like tiles and small bowls imprinted with floral impressions; and waxed-leaf garlands. All projects include easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions and photos of the elegant finished products. Crafters will be inspired by the possibilities nature has to offer. (May)

Library Journal
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Photographer, writer, and multimedia producer Michaels found herself at an unexpected crossroads in 2001; then she saw an ad on Craigslist for a job creating a website about container gardening. Though she wasn't a gardener and killed every houseplant she ever had, Michaels applied for and got the job. She always believed in the transformative power of art, and over the eight years she had that position, she learned, through trial and error, to see the beauty of gardens right in front of her that she had never noticed before. Inspired by her newfound gardening skill, she began creating artworks and crafts using elements from nature, like pressed flowers, leaves, and even water. This book, created with Liz Micheels, offers instructions for 15 crafts that can be made using materials from the garden, including vases made of twigs and cyanotype prints created by sunlight. The craft instructions include explanatory photographs. VERDICT This excellent resource combines gardening with various art forms for crafts that the average person can do easily.—Laura Ellis