Synopses & Reviews
Inspiration, happy accidents, and outright obsessions have all had their way with gardens--but nothing has done more to shape the modern garden than plants themselves. In a story that ranges from continent to continent and spans four centuries, botanist and gardener David Stuart reveals how the garden as we know it was created not by garden designers but by ordinary gardeners responding to exotic and novel plants that suggested new spaces, places, and means of display. The history begins with two earth-changing events--the establishment of colonies in the Americas and the spread of the Turkish empire. Both brought the first astonishing wave of flowering exotics to gardens across Europe. Stuart relates how, over the following centuries, the influx of new plants inspired a frenzy of hybridization (at first by a new breed of gardener, the "florist," later by nurserymen), which in turn led to such features as the familiar herbaceous border, flower bed, and rose garden, as well as the now little-known rockery, shrubbery, and "wilderness."
From the Dutch tulip mania, the eighteenth-century European passion for "American gardens," and on to the rhododendron craze of the nineteenth century, Stuart's book traces the shape of the modern garden as it changed with the fashion, returning at last to classic, cottage garden varieties long neglected in favor of the foreign and new. In conclusion, Stuart looks at plant prospecting today--now that the collecting of plants may prove essential to protecting botanical diversity and preserving plant species rapidly disappearing from the wild.
Review
Botanist and biologist Stuart...here chronicles the efforts of a small number of botanists and plant collectors to retrieve exotic plants for their own gardens and the consequences for generations of professional and amateur gardeners in Europe and then America...Stuart highlights the most colorful aspects of plant collection--the triumphs and tragedies, the rivalries and jealousies, and even the role that politics played...The text is gorgeously and generously illustrated throughout. While a pleasant read for the casual gardener or plant enthusiast, this volume will be a meeting of the souls for true plant lovers. Highly recommended. Marianne Stowell
Review
If you ever wondered why the Dutch have tulip mania or why people have a passion for flowers at all, then Stuart's history of gardening will help you understand. Beginning in the Renaissance, Stuart examines how Europeans began to gather exotic flowers on their travels--even pirates went on quests to gather plants. By the middle of the 18th century, flowers invaded the all-green gardens that prevailed at the time. Stuart traces the making of the modern garden through a rich blend of stories of plant collectors who were ultimately responsible for colonizing species around the world. Carol Haggas - Booklist
Review
How did the gardens of Europe and America evolve to look the way they do? A botanist, biologist, nurseryman, and former London Sunday Times gardening columnist, Stuart traces the history of the modern garden--from the Ottoman Empire to the Dutch tulip craze to tomorrow's hybrids--in a profusely illustrated volume that could be enhanced only by the perfume of its subjects. Julia Lewis - House and Garden Magazine
Review
Books make great gifts for gardeners. Even when it's freezing outside, they hold out the promise of lush landscapes, as I was reminded when I read the introduction of The Plants That Shaped Our Gardens...[This book] tells the story of how our gardens came to look the way they do, and how the plants we grow migrated around the world--with the help of plant hunters and collectors. It's an exciting tale, ranging from pre-colonial America to the Turkish Empire, and filled with wild adventures, strange characters and extraordinary plants. Suzanne Hively - Cleveland Plain Dealer
Review
Filled with exciting plates reproducing images from centuries of botanical and horticultural literature
The Plants that Shaped Our Gardens offers the reader an adventure story of a different type. Here David Stuart gives us the history of how plants we now consider essential parts of our gardens were brought from distant and exotic locales
The Plants that Shaped Our Gardens should be of interest to any gardener who might well wonder where the beautiful hydrangea shrub originated. Now you can read the adventures of Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold and be grateful for his pioneering spirit. Kym Pokorny - Portland Oregonian
Review
The world of horticulture is not usually known for its charismatic characters, but Stuart's genius lies in breathing life into historical figures whose astounding passion for plants makes for compelling reading...Stuart acknowledges the contributions of intrepid botanists and horticulturists, sharing the bizarre as well as the biographical...Stuart digs deep to provide arcane historical background, making this meticulously researched and engagingly written treatise a must-read for ardent gardeners who want to know more about the plants that obsess them so. Library Journal
Review
The Plants that Shaped Our Gardens by David Stuart, is a mingling of history, plant hunters, the plants they collected and how the appearance of gardens evolved according to the exotic material that was in demand...Stuart follows the development of new features such as flower beds and herbaceous borders, which resulted when plant breeders tinkered with genes, developing new colors and shapes for flowers. Stuart believes plant prospecting is necessary today to preserve species that are disappearing in the wild. The Atlantic
Review
David Stuart, a botanist, offers a rich historical account of European plant collecting dating back to the 16th century. He suggests that modern garden design evolved from the desire to showcase collected specimens and their resulting hybrids. Science News
Review
A banana tree grows in England. A palm in Paris. A tulip in New England. In 2002, not many of us give a second thought to how--or why--those plants got so far from home. But David Stuart does, and the result reads like a fast-paced mystery. From the court of Constantinople to the trail of Lewis and Clark, Stuart dives into the history of how gardens came to look as they do. Sound dry and boring? Hardly. Unknotting the stems of history, Stuart tells how early travelers changed the course of horticulture, even evolution. As travel became easier, smitten plant collectors continued the trend of carrying plants thousands of miles from their native environment. Stuart manages to find provocative tidbits and the people who shaped modern horticulture. It's a great read. Denise Cowie - Philadelphia Inquirer
Synopsis
plant species rapidly disappearing from the wild.
Synopsis
From the Dutch tulip mania, the eighteenth-century European passion for "American gardens," and on to the rhododendron craze of the nineteenth century, Stuart's book traces the shape of the modern garden as it changed with the fashion, returning at last to classic, cottage garden varieties long neglected in favor of the foreign and new. In conclusion, Stuart looks at plant prospecting today--now that the collecting of plants may prove essential to protecting botanical diversity and preserving plant species rapidly disappearing from the wild.
About the Author
David Stuart, a botanist, has been a columnist for The Sunday Times of London and also a nurseryman. He is the author of a number of books, including The Garden Triumphant: A Victorian Legacy.
Table of Contents
Introduction Treasure in the East
Unravelling the Knot
The American Garden
The Bedding Garden
Classic Herbaceous Borders
The Glass Garden
From the Wilderness to the Rose Garden
The Rock Garden
Water Gardens
Counter-revolution
Chronology
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments