Garden of Invention: The Stories of Garden Inventors & Their Innovations

We all know about great gardeners like Gertrude Jekyll, most famous for encouraging the use of herbaceous borders in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. But what about the innovators of the gardening world who have made a real difference in our capacity to convert awkward foundations into glorious plots? How did the hose come to be? Who devised the greenhouse? Which classical hero brought in the first flower pots in 1230 B.C.?
This entertaining book relates the intriguing stories of many inventions, innovations, and discoveries that have transformed our gardening world. Here is Christopher Columbus, celebrated explorer of the New World, but less known for his introduction of the wigwam frame for climbing plants. Several gardening pioneers were entrepreneurs, like John Tradescant, who in 1627 opened the world's first nursery by the Thames at Lambeth. Nathaniel Wallich made his name in 1821 as the adventurous Danish plant finder who introduced the rhododendron into Britain and North America--packed in sugar! From the invention of the trellis and the wheelbarrow in the ancient world; to secateurs, tree-movers, and flame-guns in the Victorian age; to the Gro-Bag and Flymo of modern times, this fascinating collection of tales of the intrepid and ingenious will captivate and inspire gardeners everywhere.

GEORGE DROWER, a writer and historian specializing in garden history, is the author of Britain's widely acclaimed Dependent Territories and Overseas Territories Handbook, and articles on garden history written for The Times, the Sunday Times, the Independent, Traditional Homes, and House & Garden.