The John Tradescants: Gardeners to the Rose and Lily Queen

2005 | History & Politics

There are few more important figures in the early history of modern gardening than John Tradescant the elder (15701638) and his son (16081662). This is the definitive study of two remarkable men who travelled to new or little-known lands John the elder to Russia, the Near East and North Africa, John the Younger to the new colony of Virginia in search of botanical treasures. They worked for a series of eminent patrons including Robert Cecil, the Duke of Buckingham and Charles I, for whom they supervised the creation of some of the great gardens of the period. They were also responsible for introducing many new plants into Britain. Prudence Leith-Ross identifies those varieties which were first grown by the Tradescants or introduced to the country by one of them. Their botanical garden at South Lambeth became a centre of horticultural interest, and their collection of rarities, the Ark, which subsequently formed the basis of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, was the first public museum in the country.

A unique feature of the book are the extensive appendices reproducing the complete texts of the Tradescants lists of plants of 162933, 1634 and 1656, as well as the Musaeum Tradescantianum, the younger Tradescants catalogue of the museum collection. Each plant is identified with its modern botanical name, making this an essential work for all those interested in the history of gardening and British plants.

Prudence Leith-Ross (Author)