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A plantsman is an enthusiastic and knowledgeable gardener (amateur or professional),
nurseryman A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...
or nurserywoman. "Plantsman" can refer to a male or female person, though the terms plantswoman, or even plantsperson, are sometimes used. The word is sometimes said to be
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...
ous with "
botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
" or "
horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
", but that would indicate a
profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully '' professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted b ...
al involvement, whereas "plantsman" reflects an attitude to (and perhaps even an obsession with) plants. A horticulturist may be a plantsman, but a plantsman is not necessarily a horticulturist.


Defining the word

In the first edition (June 1979) of ''
The Plantsman ''The Plant Review'', published quarterly by the Royal Horticultural Society, is a 68-page magazinemagazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
, published by the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
from 1994 until June 2019, when it was announced that the title would be changed to ''The Plant Review''), Sandra Raphael (then a senior
editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...
in the
Dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologie ...
Department of the
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
) contributed a short article on the history and meaning of the word. Her first example came from an issue of the ''
Gardeners' Chronicle ''The Gardeners' Chronicle'' was a British horticulture periodical. It lasted as a title in its own right for nearly 150 years and is still extant as part of the magazine '' Horticulture Week''. History Founded in 1841 by the horticulturists Jose ...
'' of 1881, when it seemed to mean "A nurseryman, a florist" (in the early sense of "florist" as a grower and breeder of flowers, rather than the more recent meaning of someone who sells or arranges them). She added that a modern definition should point out that "plantsman" :''"…is usually intended to mean a
connoisseur A connoisseur (French traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts; who is a keen appreciator o ...
of plants or an expert gardener."'' In her article, Raphael also quotes botanist David McClintock (writing in the
Botanical Society of the British Isles The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) is a scientific society for the study of flora, plant distribution and taxonomy relating to Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The society was founded as the Bo ...
' ''BSBI News'', December 1976) on how to distinguish a botanist from a plantsman, beginning with the simple definition: :''"A plantsman is one who loves plants for their own sake and knows how to cherish them. This… concept… may include a botanist: it certainly includes a host of admirable amateurs who may not know what a
chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...
looks like or what
taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
means, but they know the growing plant, wild or cultivated, first-hand. To my mind they are the cream of those in the plant world, a fund of invaluable first-hand information."'' He stresses the value of practical experience, saying: :''"It is much to be regretted that so few botanists, amateurs or professional, know even how to take cuttings or propagate a plant. How much better to do this, circumspectly, and so get to know the living plant better, than just press and dry the specimen."''


Notable plantsmen and women

John Tradescant the elder John Tradescant the Elder (; c. 1570s – 15–16 April 1638), father of John Tradescant the Younger, was an English naturalist, gardener, collector and traveller. On 18 June 1607 he married Elizabeth Day of Meopham in Kent, England. She had bee ...
(''ca'' 1570s–1638) and his son,
John Tradescant the younger John Tradescant the Younger (; 4 August 1608 – 22 April 1662), son of John Tradescant the Elder, was a botanist and gardener. The standard author abbreviation Trad. is applied to species he described. Biography Son of John Tradescant th ...
(1608–1662), must head the list of historic plantsmen.
Charles de l'Ecluse Charles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius (19 February 1526 – 4 April 1609), seigneur de Watènes, was an County of Artois, Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticult ...
, better known as Carolus Clusius (1526–1609), and
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
(1707–1778) are other examples. These early botanists, who certainly grew (and sometimes had also collected) many of the plants they described, can therefore be described as plantsmen (though such a term did not exist in their lifetimes). By contrast, adventurous plant-hunters such as David Douglas (1799–1834), who dedicated (and lost) his life to searching out and collecting plants from the wild, were seldom gardeners and rarely grew the plants they had collected, so perhaps do not count as plantsmen, despite their great knowledge and dedication.
Augustine Henry Augustine Henry (2 July 1857 – 23 March 1930) was a British-born Irish plantsman and sinologist. He is best known for sending over 15,000 dry specimens and seeds and 500 plant samples to Kew Gardens in the United Kingdom. By 1930, he was a rec ...
(1857–1930) was a pioneering plant-collector in Western China in the late 19th century who became a professor of
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
in later life. On the other hand, EH Wilson (1876–1930), also famed for his work in China (to the extent that he was known as Ernest "Chinese" Wilson), began as a gardener and, after working at the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...
, became a plant collector, first for
James Veitch & Sons The Veitch Nurseries were the largest group of family-run plant nurseries in Europe during the 19th century. Started by John Veitch sometime before 1808, the original nursery grew substantially over several decades and was eventually split into t ...
(nurserymen) and later for the
Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in N ...
. Irish nurseryman William Baylor Hartland (1836–1912) specialised in daffodils in the late 19th century from his nursery in Cork. He was also an authority on apples. Because of their in-depth knowledge, specialist plant-breeders may be considered as plantsmen in their own fields (though the term is often taken to imply a more encyclopaedic interest in a wide range of plants). Influential garden writers such as William Robinson (1838–1935) and garden-designer Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932) disseminated their knowledge of plants through their writing, as did a later generation of plant-lovers including
Margery Fish Margery Fish (née Townshend) (5 August 1892 – 24 March 1969) was an English gardener and gardening writer, who exercised a strong influence on the informal English cottage garden style of her period.
(1892–1969) and
Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...
(1892–1962), whose garden at
Sissinghurst Castle Sissinghurst Castle Garden, at Sissinghurst in the Weald of Kent in England, was created by Vita Sackville-West, poet and writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson, author and diplomat. It is among the most famous gardens in England and is desig ...
, created with her husband
Harold Nicolson Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, diplomat, historian, biographer, diarist, novelist, lecturer, journalist, broadcaster, and gardener. His wife was the writer Vita Sackville-West. Early lif ...
, is now owned by the
National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
and one of the most popular in Britain.
Reginald Farrer Reginald John Farrer (17 February 1880 – 17 October 1920), was a traveller and plant collector. He published a number of books, although is best known for ''My Rock Garden''. He travelled to Asia in search of a variety of plants, many of wh ...
(1880–1920) was a notable plant-hunter and influential writer in the more specialised area of
alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, ...
s and rock gardening.


Modern plantsmen

Notable modern British plantsmen include
Roy Lancaster Charles Roy Lancaster CBE (born 1937) is a British plantsman, gardener, author and broadcaster. Background Charles Roy Lancaster was born in Farnworth, Lancashire and is most widely known for his work on the long running BBC TV programme, ''Garden ...
, the late
Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...
of
Great Dixter Great Dixter is a house in Northiam, East Sussex, England. It was built in 1910–12 by architect Edwin Lutyens, who combined an existing mid-15th century house on the site with a similar structure brought from Benenden, Kent, together with his o ...
(1921–2006) and the late
Beth Chatto Beth Chatto (27 June 1923 – 13 May 2018) was an English plantswoman, garden designer and author known for creating and describing the Beth Chatto Gardens near Elmstead Market in the English county of Essex. She wrote several books about gard ...
(1923–2018). American nurserymen and plant-collectors who qualify for the title include plant-breeder Dan Heims of Terra Nova Nurseries (who styles himself a "hortiholic"), Dan Hinkley, co-founder of Heronswood (now an independent author, lecturer and horticultural consultant), and Tony Avent, owner of the renowned Plant Delights Nursery.
European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
candidates include the late Princess Greta Sturdza of Le Vasterival, near
Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
; the late Robert and Jelena de Belder, the principal creators of
Arboretum Kalmthout The Arboretum Kalmthout is a botanical garden in Kalmthout, Belgium. It was started as a tree plantation by Charles Van Geert in 1856. Van Geert developed a collection of rare plants and trees before selling the property after 40 years to Antoin ...
, Belgium; and influential Dutch garden designer
Piet Oudolf Piet Oudolf (; born 27 October 1944) is a Dutch garden designer, nurseryman and author. He is a leading figure of the "New Perennial" movementhis designs and plant compositions using bold drifts of herbaceous perennials and grasses which are cho ...
, who has pioneered the use of "
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
-style" planting with bold drifts of
perennials A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...
and grasses at gardens such as
Scampston Hall Scampston Hall is a Grade II* listed country house in North Yorkshire, England, with a serpentine park designed by Charles Bridgeman and Capability Brown. It is located on the north side of the A64 Leeds/Scarborough road, 4 miles (6 km) ea ...
,
North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
and the
RHS Garden, Wisley RHS Garden Wisley is a garden run by the Royal Horticultural Society in Wisley, Surrey, south of London. It is one of five gardens run by the society, the others being Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor, and Bridgewater (which opened on 18 May ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
in the UK and at
Enköping Enköping is a locality and the seat of Enköping Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 30,000 inhabitants in 2018. Geography Enköping is situated near Lake Mälaren, about 78 km west of Stockholm. A comparably large number of S ...
in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Oudolf is designing a Garden of Remembrance for the victims of
9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
in
Battery Park (New York) The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to ...
. Landscape architect
Louis Benech Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...
of France is also a famous plantsman.


References


Notes

{{reflist


Bibliography

*''"A Plantsman defined"'', Sandra Raphael, ''The Plantsman'' Vol I Part I, (June 1979)


External links


RHS web page for ''The Plantsman'' journal
Horticulturists Botany