The garden is an oasis, a pocket of nature in our busy modern lives, full of plants, animals, insects – and a fair bit of magic.Folk Tales from the Garden follows the seasons through a year of stories, garden lore and legends. Explore the changing face of nature just outside your front door, from the tale of the Creator painting her birds and the merits of kissing an old toad, to pixies sleeping in the tulips, and an unusually large turnip.

These stories are about the wee folk of Scotland, told afresh for everyone including, today's wee people. Collected here are stories from all over Scotland. Many were first published in the nineteenth and twentieth century, but all have been influenced by being told and retold, shaped and reshaped as they pass from storyteller to storyteller. Whether you're introducing a wee bairn to these stories for the first time or you're not-so-wee and reading them to yourself, you'll find plenty to l...

An exploration of the Scottish Borders, Tweed Dales covers six journeys spanning from the Eildon Hills to Tweeddale, Kelso to Gala Water, Ettrick to Teviotdale. The long history of the Borders and their unique culture is evoked through key personalities, events, stories and folklore. Both accomplished storytellers, Donald and Elspeth spin the magic of the stories of Borders history with passion and vitality.

This tale of intrigue and betrayal goes to the heart of events surrounding the Treaty of Union in 1707. Daniel Foe (better known as Defoe), sent to Scotland to sway opinion towards Union, reports to his English spymaster. But Edinburgh is already a hotbed of counter-plots and nascent rebellion. Foe's encounters with a landlady who is not what she seems, and with a beautiful Jacobite agent, lead him to become a novelist, against his better instincts.

On the Feast Day of Bride, The Daughter of Ivor, Shall come from her mound, In the rocks amongst the heather. I will not touch Ivor's daughter, Nor shall she harm me. Two extraordinary women come back to full-bodied life. Flora McIvor has been rescued from the pages of Sir Walter Scott, who sent her to a nunnery. Her close friend, the real life Clementina Walkinshaw, was the love of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and mother of his only child. Both are caught up in a tangle of espionage and treache...

Donald Smith's third historical novel investigates where Mary Queen of Scots' history ends and legend begins through the captivating use of contemporary prose ballad. Smith seeks a truthful narrative about not only Mary Carmichael but also Seton, Beaton, Livingston and Fleming by integrating firsthand accounts and dramatic testimony. It marks 500 years since Flodden and the Birth of John Knox.

The six months that Robert Burns spent in Edinburgh, between the Aryshire years and the short-lived maturity in Dumfries, were an intense time in the life of a poet who became a Scottish hero. Burns is an icon, but he is a flawed one. The great bard was fond of drink, women and over familiar with Edinburgh's underworld. He was often conflicted with crippling self-doubt about his talents and bitter about his place in society. Duringhis short time in Edinburgh, Burns had dealings with the in...

Storyteller Lea Taylor brings together stories from the rugged coastlines, rushing rivers, uplands and sweeping valleys of Midlothian. In this treasure trove of tales you will meet kings and queens, saints and sinners, witches and wizards, ghosts and giants, fools and tricksters – all as mysterious and powerful as the landscape they inhabit. Retold in an engaging style, and richly illustrated with unique line drawings, these humorous, clever and enchanting folk tales are s...

Commissioned especially for Scotland's Year of Stories, Storm and Shore connects the west coast of Scotland's rich mythological past with the present day. When artist Lucy Salter comes to a remote Argyll coastline she aims to connect with nature in its wild state. Aid worker Dave McArthur is fleeing traumatic conflict. But they have both ventured into a borderland, layered by history, migration and repressed violence. It is a liminal place, storied by centuries of settlement and travel. Ye...

So many gardening books tell you what to plant and where and when. But how often do they tell you to just sit and enjoy them? And when you do, you can find yourself thinking of things in a different way.With an exceptional academic career in natural history and medicine, writer Joanna Geyer-Kordesch found 'reflection, consolation and healing' in the soothing, healing powers of gardens after suffering from a major stroke. Sharing profound reflections on how gardening has helped her regenera...

Celebrating its 900th year, Edinburgh is an unrivalled theatre of story. In this commemorative book, Donald Smith unravels the city's storytelling evolution across the centuries, illustrated with vivid detail by Cat Outram. How did Edinburgh get its name? What gives the city its unique character? Why do nation and planet come together here? How did Edinburgh become the city of literature, and a Festival city? Which books have made the most impact? Through its nine official centuries Edinbu...

The garden is an oasis, a pocket of nature in our busy modern lives, full of plants, animals, insects – and a fair bit of magic.Folk Tales from the Garden follows the seasons through a year of stories, garden lore and legends. Explore the changing face of nature just outside your front door, from the tale of the Creator painting her birds and the merits of kissing an old toad, to pixies sleeping in the tulips, and an unusually large turnip.