Lessons from Plants

By: Beronda L. Montgomery

Narrated by: York Whitaker

Length: 4 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

We know that plants are important. They maintain the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. They nourish other living organisms and supply psychological benefits to humans as well, improving our moods and beautifying the landscape around us. But plants don’t just passively provide. They also take action.

Beronda L. Montgomery explores the vigorous, creative lives of organisms often treated as static and predictable. In fact, plants are masters of adaptation. They “know” what and who they are, and they use this knowledge to make a way in the world. Plants experience a kind of sensation that does not require eyes or ears. They distinguish kin, friend, and foe, and they are able to respond to ecological competition despite lacking the capacity of fight-or-flight. Plants are even capable of transformative behaviors that allow them to maximize their chances of survival in a dynamic and sometimes unfriendly environment.

Lessons from Plants enters into the depth of botanic experience and shows how we might improve human society by better appreciating not just what plants give us but also how they achieve their own purposes. What would it mean to learn from these organisms, to become more aware of our environments and to adapt to our own worlds by calling on perception and awareness? Montgomery’s meditative study puts before us a question with the power to reframe the way we live: What would a plant do?

©2021 Beronda L. Montgomery (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Educational and an excellent philosophical take on botany!

The information offered is wonderful! Very elementary such that it is understandable by most listeners, yet it reveals many little known facts about plants and how they relate to the human condition. As an ecology educator, I can recommend.
The only downside is the narration. I suspect the author is channeling Robin Wall Kimmerer, but her difficulty with the letters g, l, and ch was distracting. That said, I feel she did a fine job of making the “plant/person” parallel. Thanks.

so informative

I'm an amateur gardener who thoroughly enjoyed this book. Did not know the depths of the intricacies of plants. Interesting how humans think we're so complicated applicated not lending the same characteristics to other living organisms especially plants.

Interesting Book

Would have liked to heard more about some unique plant features/techniques/etc. But an interesting book.

Good information. Bad delivery.

enjoyed the information in the book but couldn't stop focusing on the narrator's lisp (like she has a retainer in her mouth) and the slow delivery. I usually enjoy nonfiction audiobooks.

Amazing

I am not a botanist, however, I absolutely loved this book. After listening to this book, i look at all plant life very differently. Although there were lots of technical terms used to explain plant life, I managed to follow at a very surface level and was astounded at what a plant goes through to thrive and survive. I am in awe. I too agree that we can learn a lot from plants, how to live together in spite of our differences, to adapt rather than disassociate, etc. The narrator was good. I recommend this book. Outstanding.

New appreciation

I've always loved plants & gardening. This book brings a new appreciation of the complexity of the plant world. Very detailed & well told, I was not bored at all given the many scientific terms & descriptions.

I wanted to learn more about plant biochemistry

I loved the chapters that described the biochemistry of plants. I appreciate the comparisons between plant communities and human communities. The conclusion was too long and repetitive.

Difficult to Listen to

This book is well written, but the narrator has a lateral lisp that makes listening to it difficult. It was painfully distracting. Better to read a digital or physical version.

Awareness brings appreciation

The book is beautifully written and tells an informative story about how plants interact with their environment. I now look at the trees and flowers around me with new appreciation.

The contents are well organized and sorted by features or "behaviors", such as shade-avoidance, risk-taking/avoiding, transformation of external environments, interspecies diversity, etc. I would also be interested in a book that talks in-depth about one plant and then moves to another plant.

Readers new to the topic are likely to get the most out of this book. If you are well informed on biology or evolution, most of the concepts might already be familiar to you. However, the book contains rich information, excellent examples, and a well-formulated approach, and you will learn something new.

The book is read in a soft, neutral, and calming tone. It sounds like a friend telling a story in some sections and a zoom-meeting presentation in others.

All in all, it's a light, inspiring, and enjoyable "listen", and it expands the lenses that I use to perceive the world.

for natural leaders

Let's say you receive this little book somehow by some algorithms of fate or by the grace of god. Then let's say, you are a leader-type, also you are a person with social conscience, and also you truly get that you are a part of a natural world . . . you might suddenly respond, as I did, to Beronda L. Montgomery calling your name. Your ears will perk up, then you will start to hear these plant lessons and take them to heart. All of a sudden, you are enlightened, reminded and encouraged at the speed of neurons connecting . . . and suddenly you see a good way to move forward. I don't know how to say it in any other way -- this message about leadership is profound.