Wilson's China: A Century On
Authors: Tony Kirkham, Mark Flanagan. 256pp. 280 x 238mm. Colour and black and white photographs throughout. Hardback, ISBN 9781842463949, Kew Publishing 2009.
Ernest Wilson was the foremost plant collector of his generation, responsible for introducing over 1,000 species to our gardens in the West. The authors of this book reveal Wilson's adventures through excerpts from his own writings as well as describing their own experiences tracing his journeys in the wilds of China today. Wilson's legacy includes glass plate photographs taken in Sichuan at the beginning of the 20th century, depicting landscapes, villages, river scenes, people and plants, veteran and exceptional trees. Armed with copies of these images, and with the help of Chinese guides and local knowledge, the authors retraced Wilson's footsteps, taking photographs themselves. The result is a splendid series of 'then and now' images which are a key feature of this informative homage to a great plant hunter.
The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Awards: Nominated titles: Technical category 2010
Media reviews:
...essential reading for anyone planning a botanical trip to Sichuan.Ross Ferguson, New Zealand Garden Journal, Vol. 13(1), 2010
This fascinating travelogue, with plants as an added extra, is undoubtedly the horticultural read of the year. Val Bourne, Telegraph Gardening, November 2014
This is a most unusual garden book...combines the "official" world of plant collecting for Kew with the personal obsession of its authors, Tim Richardson, Telegraph Gardening, December 5 2009
A great winter read, Roy Lancaster, Gardens Illustrated, December 2009
Mark Flanagan was Keeper of the Gardens at Windsor Great Park and looked after The Queen’s gardens for 20 years. Tony Kirkham was Kew’s Head of Arboretum, Gardens and Horticultural Services and retired in 2021. They co-wrote Plants from the Edge of the World (2005).
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