Join us for the launch of ‘A Short History of Flowers: The Stories That Shaped Our Gardens’ by Advolly Richmond.
Have you ever wondered where your favourite garden flowers came from? Where their names are derived from? Or why some cultivars go in and out of favour? Every flower we grow has a story, and in her new book A Short History of Flowers: The Stories That Shaped Our Gardens, garden historian and BBC Gardener’s World presenter Advolly Richmond takes you on a tour of the most intriguing, surprising and enriching.
Tales of exploration, everlasting love and bravery bring these beautiful flowers to life. The author has dug down to uncover the royalty, scholars, pioneers and a smuggler or two that have all played a part in discovering and cultivating some of our favourite species. From the lavish bougainvillea, found by an 18th century female botanist in disguise, to the humble but majestic snowdrop casting a spell and causing a frenzy, Advolly brings alive the people who introduced and cultivated some of our favourite plants and shares the juicy tales that made some flowers so well known.
To celebrate the launch, Advolly will be joined on stage by the book’s botanical illustrator Sarah Jane Humphrey, and garden writer and designer Naomi Slade.
Bios
-
Advolly Richmond
Advolly Richmond
Advolly Richmond is a garden historian, TV and radio presenter and independent researcher in garden, landscape, plant and social history. A regular on BBC Gardeners' World as well as on BBC Gardeners' Question Time, she is also the presenter of The Garden History Podcast, an A-Z. She lectures on garden history from the 16th to 20th centuries, and provides one-day courses for interested historians. She is passionate about promoting garden history in all its branches and likes to encourage people to value their garden and landscape heritage. She is a plant loving practical gardener with probably far too many roses and a collection of snowdrops, which kindly share their space with a range of pre-1900 heritage daffodils. She even has a variety of snowdrops named after her.
-
Sarah Jane Humphrey
Sarah Jane Humphrey
Sarah Jane Humphrey is an award-winning botanical artist who has won four RHS Medals, including the 2023 Gold medal for her collection of seaweed paintings. Much of her work is published in books and magazines and she has an array of high-profile clients, including the Royal College of Physicians, BrewDog, the Eden Project, the Duchy of Cornwall and Jo Malone.
-
Naomi Slade
Naomi Slade
Naomi Slade is a journalist, author and designer specialising in gardening, environment and lifestyle. A regular contributor to magazines including Gardens Illustrated and The English Garden and RHS The Garden, she has a long-running column in Garden News magazine, based on her own small garden and in 2022 she won the Garden Media Guild Practical Journalist of the Year Award.
To date, she has written ten gardening books including a best-selling series of illustrated monographs, covering flowers such as Hydrangeas, Dahlias and Chrysanthemums, as well as books on Orchards and Snowdrops, and the recently released ‘RHS The Winter Garden’.
www.naomislade.com
Photo credit: Holly-Wlaznik
