The Plant-Hunter's Atlas: A World Tour of Botanical Adventures, Chance Discoveries and Strange Specimens by Ambra Edwards in association with Kew Royal Botanic Gardens (Greenfinch, May 2021)
‘The Plant Hunter's Atlas is a lavishly illustrated volume telling some of the most extraordinary tales of horticultural discovery and exploring the characters behind the stories. Taking in the world's inhabited continents and spanning the centuries, the stories range from tales of derring-do in the age of discovery to modern-day botanists working at the cutting-edge of science. The text explores how plant hunters have been inspired by everything from scientific curiosity to economic greed, and their own ingrained sense of adventure.
Each entry is illustrated with botanical artwork from the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew's unrivalled collection of historical illustrations. Among the plant hunters included are: Sir Joseph Banks, Charles Darwin, David Douglas, Reginald Farrer, George Forrest, Robert Fortune, Tadeáš Haenke, Tom Hart Dyke, Alexander von Humboldt, the Lobb brothers, John Sibthorp and Ernest Henry Wilson.’
The Wardian Case: How a Simple Box Moved Plants and Changed the World by Luke Keogh (Kew Publishing, Oct 2020
Roses, jasmine, fuchsia, chrysanthemums, and rhododendrons bloom in gardens across the world, and yet many of the most common varieties have root in Asia. How is this global flowering possible? In 1829, surgeon and amateur naturalist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward placed soil, dried leaves, and the pupa of a sphinx moth into a sealed glass bottle, intending to observe the moth hatch. But when a fern and meadow grass sprouted from the soil, he accidentally discovered that plants enclosed in glass containers could survive for long periods without watering. After four years of experimentation in his London home, Ward created traveling glazed cases that would be able to transport plants around the world. Following a test run from London to Sydney, Ward was proven correct: the Wardian case was born, and the botanical makeup of the world’s flora was forever changed.
‘Cherry’ Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms by Naoko Abe (March 2019)
“Sympathetic and engrossing… a portrait of great charm and sophistication, rich in its natural and historical range, guaranteeing that you won’t look at cherry blossoms the same way again” (Dr Christopher Harding Guardian)
The Hidden Horticulturists: The Untold Story of the Men who Shaped Britain’s Gardens by Fiona Davison (Atlantic Books, April 2019)
‘This is a celebration of the unsung heroes of horticulture whose achievements reflect a golden moment in British gardening, and continue to influence how we garden today’.
Two Monsters under Glass: A Cultural History of Hothouse Flowers from 1850 to the Present by Jane Desmarais
Joseph Banks’ Florilegium: Botanical Treasures from Cook’s First Voyage by David Mabberley, Mel Gooding and Joe Studholme (Thames and Hudson Ltd, 19 October 2017).
On his return from accompanying Captain Cook on his first voyage round the world from 1768 to 1771, Joseph Banks commissioned over 700 engravings known collectively as Banks’ Florilegium.
The Florilegium, which contains some of the most precise and exquisite examples of botanical illustration ever created, was never published in Banks’ lifetime but a complete set of the engravings were issued in a Limited edition boxed set in 1990 under the direction of the British Museum (Natural History). This new Florilegium contains a selection drawn from the boxed set directed by David Mabberley, who has provided expert botanical commentaries, with additional texts by art historian Mel Gooding, setting the works in context as a perfect conjunction of nature, science and art. An afterword by Joseph Studholme describes the history of the modern printing
Robert Fortune: A Plant Hunter in the Orient by Alistair Watt (March 2017)
Garden Flora – The Natural and Cultural History of the Plants in Your Garden by Noel Kingsbury (Timber Press October 2016)
Plants in Garden History by Penelope Hobhouse, (Pavilion, 1992, 1994).