"Nicholas Harberd's narrative of the changing seasons has as its focus one tiny thale-cress plant in an East Anglian churchyard. He describes both what can be seen with the naked eye and the hidden molecular mechanisms that underlie the visible events in the plant's life. Additionally, he tells the story of the last ten years of scientific discovery in his own laboratory, as the team works to understand the genetic control of the growth of thale-cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) - the fruit-fly of the plant world."--Jacket.