A Talk for Your Group
If you are responsible for a speaker for your group's upcoming meeting, why not consider a talk on Victorian flowers? Recently I drove to the north shore of Boston to give a talk to the North Shore Horticultural Society. The…
Art of Gardening Began in England
We know we love certain plants more than others in the garden. Did you ever wonder where the idea of 'garden' came from? Someone had to create it. We know that for centuries cultures relied on herbs for both cooking…
Iris – Poor Man’s Orchid
Noel Kingsbury in his splendid encyclopedia [I call it that!] of plants Garden Flora has several pages devoted to the Iris. He says, "Iris growing is largely a connoisseur's hobby, although in the appropriate climate, a group that requires much…
Honored to Win Victorian Society’s Annual Book Award
I am happy to report that the Victorian Society in America has given my new book All about Flowers: James Vick's Nineteenth-Century Seed Company its annual book award. According to their website, the Victorian Society presents its award to up to…
American Plants Grown in English Gardens
Since the seventeenth century, American plants have formed part of the English garden. American gardeners however preferred exotic plants, rather than native varieties, well into the end of the nineteenth century. Philadelphia nurseryman Thomas Meehan in his magazine Gardener's Monthly of…