BOOKS by Judith M. Taylor
An Abundance of Flowers: More Great Flower Breeders of the Past
PURCHASE THIS BOOK
Walk into any nursery, florist, or supermarket, and you’ll encounter displays of dozens of gorgeous flowers, from chrysanthemums to orchids. At one time these fanciful blooms were the rare trophies of the rich and influential—even the carnation, today thought of as one of the humblest cut flowers. Every blossom we take for granted now is the product of painstaking and imaginative planning, breeding, horticultural ingenuity, and sometimes chance. The personalities of the breeders, from an Indiana farmer to Admiral Lord Gambier’s gardener, were as various and compelling as the beauty they conjured from skilled hybridization.
In Visions of Loveliness: Great Flower Breeders of the Past, Judith Taylor wrote engagingly about the vivid history and characters behind eighteen types of popular flowers. In this companion volume she uncovers information about another eight familiar flowers: poinsettias, chrysanthemums, gladioli, pansies, carnations, water lilies, clematis, and penstemons.
Taylor has tapped into an enormous trove of stories about extraordinary people with vision and skill who added to our enjoyment piece by piece, starting about 150 years ago. This beautifully illustrated book will please flower enthusiasts, gardeners, and history buffs alike.
As a celebration of Oxford University's alumni, each month they highlight a new book written by one of their North American-based alumni.
For May 2018, the chosen author is Judith M. Taylor, Somerville College (1952).
PRAISE FOR AN ABUNDANCE OF FLOWERS
The American Gardener
An Abundance of Flowers: More Great Flower Breeders of the Past
AN ABUNDANCE OF FLOWERS is the next installment of Judith Taylor’s research into the stories of plant breeders, some famous and some not-so. In her first book, Visions of Loveliness, Taylor covered 16 genera of ornamental flowers. In this one, she offers the stories of breeders who were active in eight additional groups, including poinsettias, chrysanthemums, and clematis. Each chapter discusses a particular genus or group of plants, detailing their botanical characteristics, and major and minor breeders. Taylor focuses on breed- ing achievements in England, France, and the United States, but includes several other countries such as Thailand and Japan. She promises to weed out the myths surrounding some plant introductions. For example, she firmly refutes the long-held belief that Joel R. Poinsett intro- duced the poinsettia in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1828. (You will have to refer to her book for the real story!)
In addition to memorializing these breeders, Taylor pro-
vides interesting political and economic context to their work. In one example, she reports that Gladiolus was successfully grown in the Channel Islands of Great Britain by the Mahy family in the 1930s. During the German occupation of Guern- sey in World War II, the Mahy fields were obliterated. A Dutch grower helped repopulate the fields with Gladiolus stock he had acquired from the family before the war.
Not all breeding efforts are successful. One example is the 1905 commercial failure of the Dianthus cultivar ‘Fiancee’ owned by the Chicago Carnation Company. It caused a sensation upon its debut at a flower show, resulting in thousands of orders for the plants. Unfortunately, the cultivar proved difficult to mass produce, so the company was unable to fill the orders. As Taylor wryly observes, “the name ‘Fiancee’ is perilously close to fiasco.”
Through these and many other stories, Taylor notes that “we who enjoy the result of so many painstaking efforts...can now look at familiar plants in a new light.” In this volume, Taylor succeeds once again in bringing the stories of diligent flower breeders of the past to the gardeners who benefit from their efforts today.
—Denise W. Adams
Denise W. Adams is the author, with Laura L. S. Burchfield, of American Home Landscapes: A Design Guide to Creating Period Garden Styles (Timber Press, 2013).
The American Gardener
May/June 2018 Issue
pg. 54
The American Gardener
An Abundance of Flowers: More Great Flower Breeders of the Past
AN ABUNDANCE OF FLOWERS is the next installment of Judith Taylor’s research into the stories of plant breeders, some famous and some not-so. In her first book, Visions of Loveliness, Taylor covered 16 genera of ornamental flowers. In this one, she offers the stories of breeders who were active in eight additional groups, including poinsettias, chrysanthemums, and clematis. Each chapter discusses a particular genus or group of plants, detailing their botanical characteristics, and major and minor breeders. Taylor focuses on breed- ing achievements in England, France, and the United States, but includes several other countries such as Thailand and Japan. She promises to weed out the myths surrounding some plant introductions. For example, she firmly refutes the long-held belief that Joel R. Poinsett intro- duced the poinsettia in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1828. (You will have to refer to her book for the real story!)
In addition to memorializing these breeders, Taylor pro-
vides interesting political and economic context to their work. In one example, she reports that Gladiolus was successfully grown in the Channel Islands of Great Britain by the Mahy family in the 1930s. During the German occupation of Guern- sey in World War II, the Mahy fields were obliterated. A Dutch grower helped repopulate the fields with Gladiolus stock he had acquired from the family before the war.
Not all breeding efforts are successful. One example is the 1905 commercial failure of the Dianthus cultivar ‘Fiancee’ owned by the Chicago Carnation Company. It caused a sensation upon its debut at a flower show, resulting in thousands of orders for the plants. Unfortunately, the cultivar proved difficult to mass produce, so the company was unable to fill the orders. As Taylor wryly observes, “the name ‘Fiancee’ is perilously close to fiasco.”
Through these and many other stories, Taylor notes that “we who enjoy the result of so many painstaking efforts...can now look at familiar plants in a new light.” In this volume, Taylor succeeds once again in bringing the stories of diligent flower breeders of the past to the gardeners who benefit from their efforts today.
—Denise W. Adams
Denise W. Adams is the author, with Laura L. S. Burchfield, of American Home Landscapes: A Design Guide to Creating Period Garden Styles (Timber Press, 2013).
The American Gardener
May/June 2018 Issue
pg. 54
