Publisher Description

Botanists have been the trailblazers in discovering how plants work to benefit our species, collecting many of the plant-species we find in our gardens today from all around the world. This informative and beautiful guide presents the stories and reveals the secrets of 35 of these botanists, plant collectors and gardening pioneers of the past and present. This includes Joseph Banks, Asa Gray and Marianne North, highlighting the qualities that brought them success. Every botanist included in The Secrets of Great Botanists was, or is, passionate about their particular specialty. Whether they were searching for plants in wild places, prescribing herbal medicines or forming new structures of plant classification, they were driven by an insatiable desire to learn and discover, so that we, as humans, might benefit from improved crops, medicines or gardens. Through the vibrancy of botanical photographs and beautifully illustrated period botanical watercolours, this book aims to teach readers about the observations, ideas, secrets and discoveries of these ground-breaking botanists. Their influence on gardening and the wider world will provide inspiration and practical guidance for budding gardeners of all levels and inspire readers to try these plants and tips at home.

Back Cover

Botanists are the trailblazers who first discovered how plants work and collected from around the world many of the species that we find in our gardens today. This informative and beautiful guide presents the stories of 35 plant collectors and gardening pioneers of the past and present, including Joseph Banks, Asa Gray and Marianne North.Arranged in chronological order, each profile covers one botanist, presenting their life story, discoveries and legacy, while special feature pages reveal their secrets, exploring the qualities that brought them success and showing what ordinary gardeners can learn from them.Illustrated with beautiful period botanical watercolours and vibrant photographs, The Secrets of the Great Botanists will provide inspiration and practical guidance for gardeners of all levels, from successful plant cultivation to adding interest to your garden.

Author Biography

Matthew Biggs trained at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has presented numerous TV gardening programs and is a regular on UK radio. Author of and contributor to several books and magazines, Matthew is also a highly regarded lecturer. He has travelled widely and is fascinated by global gardening.

Table of Contents

IntroductionPedanius Dioscorides c. ad 40–90Leonhart Fuchs 1501–1566William Turner c. 1508–1568John Ray 1627–1705Mary Somerset 1630–1715Henry Compton 1632–1713William Dampier 1651–1715John Bartram 1699–1777Carl Linnaeus 1707–1778Jeanne Baret 1740–1807Joseph Banks 1743–1820James Edward Smith 1759–1828Philipp von Siebold 1796–1866John Lindley 1799–1865Anna Atkins 1799–1871Georgiana Molloy 1805–1843Asa Gray 1810–1888William Colenso 1811–1899Joseph Dalton Hooker 1817–1911Gregor Mendel 1822–1884Marianne North 1830–1890Luther Burbank 1849–1926Henry Nicholas Ridley 1855–1956Charlotte Wheeler-Cuffe 1867–1967George Forrest 1873–1932Ernest Wilson 1876–1930Francis Kingdon-Ward 1885–1958Nikolai Vavilov 1887–1943Carl Rudolf Florin 1894–1965E. K. Janaki Ammal 1897–1984William Stearn 1911– 2001Richard Evans Schultes 1915–2001Mikinori Ogisu Born 1951Bleddyn & Sue Wynn-Jones Born 1948 (Bleddyn) and 1952 (Sue)Patrick Blanc Born 1953BibliographyIndexCredits

Long Description

Botanists have been the trailblazers in discovering how plants work to benefit our species, collecting many of the plant-species we find in our gardens today from all around the world. This informative and beautiful guide presents the stories and reveals the secrets of 35 of these botanists, plant collectors and gardening pioneers of the past and present. This includes Joseph Banks, Asa Gray and Marianne North, highlighting the qualities that brought them success. Every botanist included in The Secrets of Great Botanists was, or is, passionate about their particular specialty. Whether they were searching for plants in wild places, prescribing herbal medicines or forming new structures of plant classification, they were driven by an insatiable desire to learn and discover, so that we, as humans, might benefit from improved crops, medicines or gardens. Through the vibrancy of botanical photographs and beautifully illustrated period botanical watercolours, this book aims to teach readers about the observations, ideas, secrets and discoveries of these ground-breaking botanists. Their influence on gardening and the wider world will provide inspiration and practical guidance for budding gardeners of all levels and inspire readers to try these plants and tips at home.

Feature

35 revolutionary botanists. Discoveries that made the world bloom. Learn from their legacies with this inspiring guide

Description for Sales People

An inspiring, informative, and beautifully illustrated guide to 35 of history's most revolutionary botanists.Chronological profiles of each botanist presenting their life story, discoveries and legacyThe 'Inspiration for Gardeners' pages at the end of each botanist's section detail plants and discoveries related to the botanist, inspiring readers to try these plants and tips at home.Special feature pages reveal botanists' secrets, qualities that brought them success, and showing what gardeners can learn from them.Illustrated with beautiful period botanical watercolours, vibrant photographs associated with all 35 botanists with sketches of each botanist.Features Joseph Banks (James Cook's botanist on the Endeavour), Georgiana Molloy (one of the first botanists in the Swan River Colony in Western Australia) and William Colenso (twenty-six New Zealand plants have been named in Colenso's honour).

Description for Press or Other Media

Welcome to the lives of 35 botanists from our past and present, driven by an insatiable desire to learn and discover, whose study of plants revolutionised the scientific world and increased our understanding of the importance plants have on our survival. Illustrated with beautiful period botanical watercolours and vibrant photographs, this inspiring and practical guide delves into the qualities that brought them success and shows what ordinary gardeners can learn from their legacies.

Details