Tag Archives: Loddiges

How Orchids became a Librarian’s Nightmare

It maybe a strange title but this is really the story of a rich young man and his passion for plants or rather one particular kind of plant.  James Bateman was the grandson and son of rich industrialists who had … Continue reading

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The Strange Case of Doctor Ward…

Most readers of this blog will be familiar with the Wardian case, the method of transporting plants that transformed the world’s gardens and hothouses from the mid-19thc onwards and which were in regular use by Kew for the international transportation of … Continue reading

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The ‘smallest clever man I ever knew”….

So said John Ruskin of Edward Cooke who was mentioned in the post of May 2nd about Stumperies. Ruskin—a fellow enthusiast for the natural sciences—went on to say that Cooke was ” full of accurate and valuable knowledge in natural history … Continue reading

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