On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:37:45 GMT, "Howard Haigh"
wrote:

Hi All

I'm asking this on behalf of a friend who is engaged in an art project and
she would like to know what plants would have appeared in Victorian public
parks - well actually in one particular public park (Peel Park in Salford,
opened in 1846). From what I can see the Victorians were keen on colourful
borders but some of you out there might know a lot more and could name a few
plants.

I'll forward replies on to her (she uses e-mail but doesn't know anything
about newsgroups and URG).

TIA

Howard



http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/desig...ctorian3.shtml

Victorian characters
The plant hunters
Records of plant hunting date back to 1495BC when Queen Hatshetsup
sent botanists out to Somalia to collect incense trees. But the
Victorian period was the golden era of plant collecting. There was a
desire for exploration and discovery and Victorian plant hunters were
botanical adventurers who risked life and limb to bring back exotic
plants from around the world.

Many of them died on their travels, but their legacy lives on in the
plants that many of us now consider to be part of the quintessential
British landscape.

William and Thomas Lobb
Cornish brothers William and Thomas Lobb were two of the most
prominent and prolific Victorian plant hunters, working alongside the
famous British plant nursery Veitch & Sons.

William introduced many species from North and South America,
including famous plants such as the monkey puzzle tree and
wellingtonia. Thomas travelled East and collected plants from
Indonesia, India and the Philippines.

George Forrest (1873 to 1932)
George Forrest travelled mainly to China, Tibet and Burma. He was
responsible for introducing about 600 species of plants, 300 of which
were rhododendrons. He also brought back camellias, magnolias,
Himalayan poppies and primulas.

Joseph Hooker (1817 to 1911)
Joseph Hooker, William Hooker's son, brought back more than 28 new
species of rhododendrons from his expeditions to the Himalaya in 1848
and 1851. The craze for rhododendrons soon swept the UK. Hooker was a
close friend of Charles Darwin and eventually became director of the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Robert Fortune (1812 to 1880)
Robert Fortune began his botanical career at the Royal Botanic
Gardens, Edinburgh. He later became deputy superintendent of the
Horticultural Society (later to become the Royal Horticultural
Society) at Chiswick. In 1843 he was commissioned by the society to
travel to China to collect plants. After travelling extensively
through China and Japan, he introduced more than 120 species to
English gardens.

Fortune's overseas adventures included investigations into the
commercial opportunities in growing tea. Commissioned by the British
East India Company, he disguised himself as a Chinese peasant as he
smuggled out cuttings of the tea plant Camellia sinensis from China
into India. These cuttings enabled India and Ceylon to become
established as major growers and exporters of tea.

Plants Robert Fortune introduced include: Trachycarpus fortunei,
Dicentra spectabilisMahonia japonica, Jasminum nudiflorum and Skimmia
japonica

William Andrew Nesfield (1793 to 1881)
William Nesfield was born in 1793. He graduated from Trinity College,
Cambridge and enlisted in the army in 1809, fighting in Spain and
Canada. He retired on half pay in 1816 and dedicated himself to
painting watercolours between 1823 and 1843.

In the later half of his life, Nesfield's passion changed to landscape
gardening.

Drawing upon pre-18th-century garden styles, he gained a reputation
for elaborate designs. His style often combined using elaborate
parterres with modern plants.

He worked on Regent's Park, St James's Park, The Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, Grimston Park, Holkham Hall, Broughton Hall and Witley
Court.

Sir Joseph Paxton (1803 to 1865)
Paxton was probably the most famous of the Victorian gardeners. The
son of a farmer with only a very basic education, Paxton eventually
became responsible for the gardens at Chatsworth House owned by the
Duke of Devonshire.

Paxton designed the new conservatory at Chatsworth which was built to
a distinctive ridge and furrow pattern and later the Crystal Palace in
London, for which he was knighted by Queen Victoria. He eventually
became a millionaire because of commercial investments, such as
selling small greenhouses to amateur gardeners.

John Claudius Loudon (1783 to 1843)
John Loudon was a major influence on gardens and gardening during his
lifetime. One of the key gardens he designed - Birmingham Botanic
Gardens - became synonymous with the Gardenesque movement.

A prolific writer, it's estimated that Loudon wrote more than 66
million words in his lifetime. In The Gardener's Magazine he enthused
and educated the newly prosperous middle classes with gardening tips
and advice.

Loudon was a great campaigner and fought hard for better pay and
conditions for gardeners. He also came up with the idea for a green
belt around cities which he called 'breathing zones'. His efforts
transformed middle class gardens around Britain.


--


Avoid the rush at the last judgement. Be converted now instead!




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