Plant Hunter's Garden
- Book Review,
by Bobby Ward
From Booklist
Ward profiles a rare group of individuals who are following in the footsteps of intrepid explorers of long ago who brought gardeners many of the plants that appear in today's gardens. And like those of the past, these modern plant hunters are discovering treasure troves of new species and varieties in remote regions of China, South Africa, South Asia,and even the U.S. Ward writes delightfully engaging portraits, introducing readers to folk such as Jim and Jenny Archibald, who produce a newsletter seed list from their base in Wales. And where would plant fanatics in this country be without the likes of Dan Hinckley, plantsman and explorer extraordinaire who created beautiful Heronswood Nursery? It's there that many of his discoveries are eventually made available to the public. All 32 plant hunters profiled are worthy of attention. Homebodies who love to garden will savor reading about vast realms of uncommon plants, the unique people who set out to find them, and the magical places where plants do, in fact, reign supreme. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Many gardeners are vaguely aware of the "greats" of plant exploration, such as E. H. Wilson, George Forrest, or John Tradescant. Fewer may know the names of today's plant explorers or recognize the makings of a new golden age of plant discovery. Nonetheless, a quick visit to almost any nursery will reveal the bounty of these intrepid plant collectors, whose handiwork enriches gardens everywhere. The Plant Hunter's Garden profiles 32 of today's more prolific plant hunters. From the Czech Republic to the Rocky Mountains, Bobby Ward has sought out those explorers in the private sphere who are collecting plants specifically for horticultural introduction. While providing interesting details on the lives and careers of these new explorers, the real focus of the book is on the plants themselves. Ward asked each of the hunters to choose the very best treasures from their years of collecting, and has sumptuously illustrated these jewels in stunning photos. Many plants in these pages became bestsellers quickly after introduction from the wild, but hundreds more underappreciated gems are sure to entice and surprise any reader of this book. From the comfort of the armchair or the potting-shed table, readers of The Plant Hunter's Garden can embark on their own voyages of discovery in these delightful pages.
From the Inside Flap
Many gardeners are vaguely aware of the "greats" of plant exploration, such as E. H Wilson, George Forrest, or John Tradescant. Some may even have heard the stories of their discoveries of such familiar garden plants as dove trees, giant rhododendrons, and tulip trees. Even fewer gardeners, however, may know the names of today's plant explorers or recognize the makings of a new golden age of plant discovery. Nonetheless, a quick visit to almost any nursery will reveal the bounty of these intrepid plant collectors, whose handiwork enriches gardens everywhere. But where do these plants come from? Who found them, and how are they introduced? Which of these plants are the favorites of the plant hunters themselves, and which are really worth growing? Bobby J. Ward provides the answers to these questions in The Plant Hunter's Garden: The New Explorers and Their Discoveries.The author profiles thirty-two of today's more prolific plant hunters. From the Czech Republic to the Rocky Mountains, Ward has sought out those explorers in the private sphere who are collecting plants specifically for horticultural introduction, not just as scientific specimens for botanical collections. While providing interesting details on the lives and careers of these new explorers, the real focus of the book is on the plants themselves. Ward asked each of the hunters to choose the very best treasures from their years of collecting and has sumptuously illustrated these jewels in stunning photos. Many plants in these pages, such as Schizophragma hydrangeoides 'Moonlight' or Lysimachia congestiflora 'Eco Dark Satin', became bestsellers quickly after introduction from the wild, but hundreds more underappreciated gems, from Disporum cantoniense 'Night Heron' to Tripterospermum japonicum, are sure to entice and surprise any reader of this book.From the comfort of the armchair or the potting-shed table, readers of The Plant Hunter's Garden can embark on their own voyages of discovery in these delightful pages.
About the Author
Bobby J. Ward is a past president of the North American Rock Garden Society. He received his Ph.D. in botany from North Carolina State University and is a retired environmental scientist. A dedicated gardener, he has long been interested in plant names and plant lore. His book A Contemplation Upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature won the Quill & Trowel Award of the Garden Writers Association. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chris Chadwell's passion is the Himalayan region, which stretches from Nanga Parbat on the Indus in northern Pakistan, south-eastward into Kashmir and other northern Indian states bordering Tibet, through Nepal, Sikkim, the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, and on the Namcha Barwa on the Tsango-po (river) in southeast Tibet (Polunin and Stainton 1997). The world's highest mountain range runs for about 1400 miles (2240 km) but due to political complications, the far eastern districts of the Himalaya (including sections of Sikkim and all of Bhutan) are out of bounds as a source of present-day plant introductions. Chris has limited his travels to the area covered by Polunin and Stainton's Flowers of the Himilaya, that is, the western Himalaya and Nepal. At this writing, Chris as spent nineteen seasons in the high Himalaya and is widely recognized as the authority on the flora of this region. Himalaya in sanskrit, the ancient classical language of India and Hinduism, translates as "the abode of snow." Despite our impressions of these regions, a wide elevational range creates enormous contrasts in habitat, temperature, rainfall, and flora. There are vast expanses of high-altitude, cold desert in the north of much of the Himilaya, a region in the borderlands of Tibet in which Chris has traveled often,finding many horitcultural gems. He concentrates on plants likely to prove hardy in Western gardens, with a particular focus on the at 9,000 to 14,800 feet (3000-4500 m). Chris made his first trip to the Himilaya in 1980 as a botanist on the Southampton University (United Kingdom) Ladakh Expedition. Three years later he organized and led his first scientific and horticultural venture, the Kashmir Botanical Expedition. He mounted his second trip two years later and then turned his attention to the borderlands of western Tibet. The majority of Chris' expeditions have been undertaken with P. Kohli and Company, the Indian horticultural firm established in 1924.
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