A practical guide to growing all kinds of unusual plants -- not the ordinary, good looking ones that most people choose to grow! Voodoo Lilies, Venus Fly Traps, Squirting Cucumbers and Abyssinian Bananas are just some of the exotic and dramatic-looking plants that you can grow quite simply and some of them even indoors by following this book's instructions on planting and tending. Beyond the particular, the principles of home growing and the fun it gives are entertainingly introduced in this attractively illustrated book. Julia Eccleshare

Nicola Davies trained as a zoologist. She worked as a presenter, assistant producer and writer for the BBC before becoming an author. She now writes non fiction and fiction, for children and adults, and is a senior lecturer in creative writing at Bath Spa University. Nicola has written many non fiction titles for BBC Worldwide, for Kingfisher and for Walker Books including several in the award winning 'Read and Wonder' series: 'Big Blue Whale', 'Bat Loves the Night', 'One Tiny Turtle', 'Surprising Sharks' and 'Ice Bear'. 'Surprising Sharks' became a Boston Globe Honour Book in October 2004. 'Ice Bear', about Polar bears and Inuit in the Arctic, ( illustrated by Gary Blythe) was published in 2005 and won the English Society Award for young non fiction. A new title, 'White Owl, Barn Owl', will be out in Autumn 2006. Nicola's 2004 title for Walker, 'Poo: A Natural History of the Unmentionable' (illustrated by Neal Layton), was the subject of an exhibition at the Rothschild Museum (part of the Natural History Museum) and has appeared in more than ten foreign language editions. It has won two prizes for science books in Italy and is shortlisted for another in Germany this year. The next title, also illustrated by Neal Layton, 'Extreme Animals', will be published in the UK in Autumn 2006. 'Home', Nicola's first novel for older children, was published by Walker in 2005 and was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award. Her second novel 'Twins' is due out in 2007. In addition to writing, Nicola works with children in schools helping to develop their writing skills, using natural history as a trigger for creative writing. She is a popular author at literary festivals such as Edinburgh, Oxford, Cheltenham and the Festivaletteratura in Mantova, Italy. She has a long association with the Young Cultural Creators project and is involved in various other arts projects with children. She has been writer in residence for the Swansea Wordplay Festival and for Farms For City Chidren, among others. In 2005 Nicola organised a one day conference on children's non fiction 'Adventures in the Real World' at the Dylan Thomas Center in Swansea. She recently wrote the libretto for a children's opera, performed at the King's Hunting Lodge in Epping Forest in June 2006. Under her pen name, Stevie Morgan, Nicola has written humorous columns for the Independent, and three adult novels for Hodder and Stoughton. Some Books for Children Big Blue Whale Walker Books 1997 Bat Loves the Night Walker Books 2000 One Tiny Turtle Walker Books 2000 Surprising Sharks Walker Books 2002 Wild About Dolphins Walker Books 2000 Poo: A Natural History of the Unmentionable Walker Books 2004 Home (older children's fiction) Walker Books 2005 Twins (older children's fiction) Walker books 2007 Extereme Animals Walker Books 2005 Ice Bear, Walker Books 2005 White Owl, Barn Owl Walker Books 2006 Some Reviews ' A marvellous meeting with a Blue Whale...fills the reader with wonder...stranger than any fiction...' The Observer '... gentle, unhurried, lyrical ...' Books for Keeps 'Nicola Davies is an author who gets the balance exactly right. Her scientific love of the particular translates into the precise well chosen language that so appeals to children. There is not a word too many,there is not a word out of place ... near-poetic narrative' Times Educational Supplement 'If only all natural history books were as well pitched as this!' The Independent 'I would not change a single word!' Books for Keeps '...I was caught, hook, line and sinker...' The Guardian Scoular Anderson is Scottish by birth. He studied Graphic Design at the Glasgow School of Art and worked as an illustrator for London University. He worked as a teacher at a comprehensive school in Scotland. He has been a freelance writer and illustrator for 16 years. To visit Scoular Anderson's website click here SIMON HICKMOTT has been interested in growing plants since he was a boy, and has since made a career out of growing the weird and the wonderful. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the tropical section, growing exotic plants under glass. He also run a seed library at the Henry Doubleday Research Association, growing and distributing hundreds of rare and endangered vegetable varieties. He was Raymond Blanc's Head Vegetable Gardener, producing diverse and high quality vegetables and herbs for his famous restaurant and hotel, Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons. For many years he ran his own company, Future Foods, growing and selling lesser-known edible plants by mail order. Most recently, he has been Head Gardener for a private estate. He is the author of Growing Unusual Vegetables: Weird & Wonderful Edible Plants and How to Grow Them, has contributed to the New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening, and for many years annually helped to compile The Fruit & Veg Finder, a directory of seed suppliers.

How to Grow Monsters Getting Started Making Monsters Feel at Home Squirting Cucumber Voodoo Lily Abyssinian Banana Cardoon Walking Stick Cabbage Venus Fly Trap Pitcher Plant Giant Echium Lychee Where to Buy Seeds and Plants Glossary