From baby blue eyes to silver bells, from abelia to zinnia, every flower tells a story.

Gardening writer and historian Diana Wells knows them all. Here she presents one hundred well-known garden favorites and the not-so-well-known stories behind their names.

Not for gardeners only, these flower stories tell of human striving - stories of ambitious explorers, clever hucksters, arbitrary monarchs, and patient scientists.

To compile 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names, Diana Wells delved deep into horticultural history, etymology, and lore to uncover myths, legends, folk beliefs, and stories of the intrepid botanists who searched the world's far corners for new and unusual flowers.