Suhrkamp Publishing House
“The Blossoms of the City” reveals in 70 plant portraits how closely we are interwoven with nature – even where concrete dominates. A sensual and intellectual book about a year full of scents, colours and shapes.
Consciously experiencing an entire year
The annual botanical cycle does not follow a straightforward plan; you have to approach it tentatively and experience what says to you. N&P co-founder Paul-Philipp Hanske has been doing this since he was a child, taking flowers apart to understand what was in them and searching through parks to find where an unusual scent came from.
This fascination gave rise to the idea for a book that captures an entire year in 70 plant portraits: from January to December whenever a plant has its characteristic moment – sometimes in full bloom, sometimes through its scent, its fruit or its decay. Christian Werner contributed the photographs and Alexis Zurflüh designed the book.
“The Blossoms of the City” focuses on the plants surrounding city dwellers day after day – without them even realising it: mosses and roses, daisies and hops, dahlias and nettles. It shows how much nature is visible even where concrete dominates – and how the seasons can be experienced in miniature right on our doorstep.
| Client | Suhrkamp Publishing House |
|---|---|
| Period | 2018 |
| Category | |
| Services provided | Idea, research, picture editing, layout |
| Good to know | The original idea was to write an olfactorial biography of a botanical year in Central Europe. |