Roy Lancaster

Macbeth, with the murder on his mind, has a vision."Is this a dagger I can see... see but cannot touch?The hilt is turned toward my hand, but still... I cannot clutch.It is a dagger... of the mind to lead me to his roomAlthough unreal, it's like the one I draw to seal his doom."He draws his dagger."I must move soft, that no one hears my footsteps on the stoneIn silence then I make my way, my presence never known..." A bell rings."The signal sounds, the time has come for Duncan... it's a knellI go... it's done, I send him now to heaven, or... to hell." He enters the room.End of Scene 1

Shylock speaksThis man abused me, so many times, laughed at my loses my gains Scorned my people, thwarted my deals causing such heartfelt painsHes heated my foes, cooled off my friends, why does he do such things?Im not of his race or religion from that his enmity springs.Have I not eyes? Have I not hands, organs, passion and heart?Do I not eat, fall ill, get healed? If slapped, do I not smart?If I am pricked, do I not bleed? If tickled, do I not squirm?If I am poisoned, would I not die, like him, lie feeding the worms?If we are wronged, should we not fight, as you have taught us to do?That which you taught us, we will improve, it

Celebrated plantsman Roy Lancaster’s birth on 5th December 1937 was the start of something big for plants and horticulture. His chance find of a Mexican tobacco plant in a local allotment brought him fame as a Bolton schoolboy and sowed the seeds of his future career. This book is the story of his adventures as he sees tropical plants for the first time in the jungles of Malaya, meets Roberto Burle Marx at his garden near Rio de Janeiro, and hunts for pitcher plants in North America. Well-known for his encylopedic botanical knowledge and for introducing many popular garden plants, Roy is also a consummate story-teller and wise philosopher. His acute sense of life’s comic moments, spirited sense of adventure and respect for the natural world make this a remarkable read.

China truly is a plantsman's paradise: it is so rich in variety that there are upwards of 3,000 native plants on a single mountain in China - compared to around 2,000 in the whole of the British Isles. And, in the province of Yunnan alone, there are 137 species of oaks and oak relatives - in Britain we have just 2! This book successfully combines a most enjoyable and detailed account of the well-known author's many journeys through China. First and foremost, Travels in China provides a practical assessment of the Chinese plants that are either of ornamental merit or botanical interest to gardeners in the West. Roy Lancaster follows in the footsteps of the great Victorian plant hunters and describes, in this, his magnum opus, some 1,000 different plants in their natural habitat. He provides an eminently readable account of a fascinating country, its people, and the plants that have done so much to enrich the gardens of Europe and North America. Nearly 1,000 of Lancaster's own attractive and colourful photographs illustrate the text, showing the wealth of Chinese plants in the wild and in Western cultivation: the rare, the exotic and the surprisingly familiar. The informative text is interspersed with fascinating descriptions and anecdotes from his travels.

This colorful, engaging book brings together the wisdom--and wit--of four expert gardeners to provide novices with clear instruction on everything from planting to pruning, from creating a pond to lining a hanging basket. Drawing on their years of experience working with apprehensive beginners, the authors carefully explain the gardening calendar and the steps that are needed for a garden to reach its full potential. Readers will clear sites for raised beds, propagate from seed, grow hothouse exotica, protect against infestation, and develop attractive displays.