Boston Flora

Tag: Joseph Banks

  • Wednesday, October 22, 1:00 pm Eastern – Craze for Collecting: Sir Joseph Banks

    Were they intrepid explorers and suppliers of beauty and scientific advancement, or imperialist plunderers and destroyers of fragile environments? The reputation of plant-hunters as brave adventurers tracking down botanical wonders has taken something of a battering in recent years. Make your own mind up about their role and continuing importance as The Gardens Trust shares some plant-hunter stories in this new five part series. Learn about the exploits of the late-18th century ‘father’ of modern plant-hunting and the adventures of a once-celebrated woman who led botanical expeditions to the Andes. Hear tales from those who’ve followed in the footsteps of famous collectors, revisiting the native habitats of exotic plants which are now staples in the British garden, and ponder on ideas about the very different role of collectors today in plant conservation and public education. This ticket is for this individual session and costs £8. Register through Eventbrite HERE. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the talk, and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.

    This talk will explore the plant-hunting escapades of Joseph Banks (1743 – 1820) and how from these he developed a new plant-hunting paradigm. It will explain this new approach and introduce some of ‘his’ plant-hunters, their works and discoveries.

    With a degree in horticulture and a Ph.D. in garden history, both from Reading University, Toby Musgrave is an independent scholar, lecturer and author specialising in garden and plant history. His fifteenth book will be published by Phaidon in Spring 2026. Toby lives in Denmark where he gardens one of the historic De Runde Haver. He is also a submersible pilot.

    For more information, please visit https://www.TobyMusgrave.com/

  • Tuesday, October 6, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – The Brother Gardeners

    Historian Andrea Wulf will speak at the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum on Tuesday, October 6, from 7 – 8:30. Bringing to life the science and adventure of eighteenth-century plant collecting, The Brother Gardeners is the story of how six men created the modern garden and changed the horticultural world in the process. It is a story of a garden revolution that began in America. In 1733, colonial farmer John Bartram shipped two boxes of precious American plants and seeds to Peter Collinson in London. Around these men formed the nucleus of a botany movement, which included famous Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus; Philip Miller, bestselling author of The Gardeners Dictionary; and Joseph Banks and David Solander, two botanist explorers, who scoured the globe for plant life aboard Captain Cook’s Endeavor. As they cultivated exotic blooms from around the world, they helped make Britain an epicenter of horticultural and botanical expertise. The Brother Gardeners paints a vivid portrait of an emerging world of knowledge and gardening as we know it today.
    Fee: free for sponsor members, $20 nonmembers. Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277. Offered with the Massachusetts Historical Society.