Wildflowers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

This book is a pleasant little album of color shots of 98 different
wildflowers in full bloom. For the majority, there’s both a closeup
and an overview of the plant or plant cluster. The text is limited to a
brief introduction and an extensive caption for each flower, giving
habitat preference, geographic distribution, scientific name, and a
brief description of the plant.

Primrose, before her death, assigned herself the demanding task of
photographing wildflowers in their natural settings. She went against
popular conventions by refusing to alter the plant’s position to her
advantage. As a result, her shots are soft and natural, lacking the
hard-edged supersaturation we have come to expect in today’s
technologically enhanced flower photography. Some of her subjects were
growing in the shade, so she accepted a darker picture, making the most
of whatever light was available. Although there are no details about the
equipment Primrose used, the photos suggest that she used 35mm, with few
aids to enhance the flower’s natural site. She relied on depth of
field to eliminate background clutter, and a shallow depth of field
characterizes her closeups.

It is in the area of composition that Primrose and her publisher are at
cross-purposes. Although Primrose’s compositions may at first glance
appear to be naive, they are in fact innovative and daring in their
inattention to the conventional art-school rules. Unfortunately, the
book’s designer, failing to recognize the strength of the
compositions, has imposed a forced busyness by overlapping the photos.

The nearly 200 photos are grouped by season—spring, early summer,
mid-summer, and late summer/fall. The clarity of the closeups is such
that the work can double as an identification reference while claiming
its rightful place on the coffee table.