Tag Archives: Joseph Banks

Mary’s Mosaiks

Posted on 09/06/2018 by The Garden History Blog

Mary Granville could easily have been the protagonist of one of those boringly wordy Georgian 3 volume novels, now long unread and forgotten. The first tome would have covered her early life: from the minor aristocracy, well-educated and talented but … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged botanical art, Bulstrode, Duchess of Portland, Georg Ehret, George III, geranium, Glasnevin, herbarium, Joseph Banks, Mrs Delany, Queen Charlotte | Leave a comment

Repton and his business

Posted on 06/01/2018 by The Garden History Blog

HAPPY NEW YEAR! If you hadn’t already realised 2018 is Repton Year, when we’re commemorating the life and work of the last great landscape designer of the eighteenth century. Unlike the Festival for his ‘predecessor’ Capability Brown there is no great … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Ashridge, Capability Brown, Gardens Trust, Humphry Repton, James Edward Smith, jane austen, john nash, Joseph Banks, Red Book, Welbeck | 3 Comments

The further adventures of Francis Masson – the man with itchy feet

Posted on 02/07/2016 by The Garden History Blog

Last week’s post finished with Francis Masson returning to Kew in 1775 after a successful plant collecting expedition to the Cape of Good Hope. But he was clearly a man with itchy feet so the following year he was off again … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Azores, bulbs, Canada, Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Dutch, DUtch East India Compnay, Francis Masson, George III, geranium, Gladiolus, heaths, herbarium, Holland, Hortus Kewensis, houseplant, James Lee, James Smith, Joseph Banks, kew, Linnaeus, Linnean Society, Montreal, Mrs Delany, pelargonium, plant hunters, pot plants, Royal Society, South Africa, succulents, Thunberg, Willaim Aiton | 1 Comment

How Francis Masson found the world’s oldest pot plant…and a few other things

Posted on 25/06/2016 by The Garden History Blog

“The country is encompassed on all sides with very high mountains, almost perpendicular, consisting of bare rocks, without the last appearance of vegetation; and upon the whole, has a most melancholy effect on the mind.” So wrote Francis Masson … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Anders Sparrman, captain cook, cycad, Dutch, Dutch East India Company, Francis Masson, George III, Holland, Hortus Kewensis, James Lee, Joseph Banks, kew, L'Heritier, Lee & Keneddy, Linnaeus, Oldenburg, plant hunters, pot plants, Royal Society, Scotland, Scottish, South Africa, succulents, Thunberg, William Aiton | Leave a comment

Eastbury

Posted on 30/05/2015 by The Garden History Blog

No it isn’t a disused rural railway station! Instead this intriguing arcaded house is all that remains of one of Baroque architect Sir John Vanbrugh’s greatest buildings. Vastly expensive and taking over 20 years to complete, Eastbury at Tarrant Gunville in … Continue reading →