Tag Archives: plant hunters

Lilac Time…

Posted on 15/04/2017 by The Garden History Blog

The spring has caught up with my garden and the lilacs are beginning to bloom. The first I knew was as I opened the doors into the garden the other morning and caught the scent well before I could see … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged John Gerard, John Parkinson, kew, plant breeding, plant hunters, Royal Horticultural Society, Victor Lemoine, William Robinson | 3 Comments

The survival of Wentworth Castle

Posted on 14/01/2017 by The Garden History Blog

In 1817 the Rev. Lionel Berguer published “Trifles in Verse”, a collection of [to put it politely] turgid amateur poetry. The first of these almost unreadable pieces is dedicated to his friend Frederick Vernon Wentworth. It conjures up a gentle Arcadian … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged camellias, conservation, conservatory, Crompton & Fawkes, earl fitzwilliam, Head Gardener, Horace Walpole, john nost, orchids, plant hunters, rhododendrons, Stumperies, vernon wentworth, wentworth woodhouse, wilderness, winter garden | Leave a comment

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

Joseph Knight & his Exotic Nursery

Posted on 10/10/2015 by The Garden History Blog

We tend to think of gardeners being poor – unless of course they’re celebs on the box – and it’s hard to think of many gardeners in history who became rich. But there are exceptions and one such was Joseph … Continue reading →