Steve McQueen’s new project on the plants of Grenada:
‘I wanted to see what the Arawaks, the Caribs, the Europeans, the Africans, the migrant Chinese and Indian workers would have seen within the one constant thing which would have brought attention to their gaze, a thing of beauty’
An artistic botanical illustration of a flower with pink petals and green stem. The flower's center is highlighted with two prominent anthers. The paper appears aged, and a colour chart is visible in the top left corner.
Botanical illustration showing detailed drawings of various parts of the plant Solanum nigrum, also known as black nightshade. Includes a flower with yellow stamens, a cross-section of the ovary, and an eggplant-like fruit. Handwritten notes are visible on the paper.
Illustrated botanical drawing featuring a green plant on the left, a slender capsule in the center, and a red berry on the right. The text below reads "Vaccinium vitis idaea.
A botanical illustration features two parts of a plant. On the left, a detailed flower with multiple stamens is shown, indicating its internal structure. On the right, a close-up of a green, segmented seed pod is displayed. Below, the text reads "Sanicula Europaea. Sison Amomum.
Preserved for 200 years, these watercolour illustrations used by Darwin’s mentor, John Henslow, have been featured for the first time in today’s Guardian.
And they will soon be used again as teaching materials in the Garden’s new Certificate in Botany course.
Find out more: https://shorturl.at/SxCej
Puzzle Binding!
Tricky! These are almost as rare as hen's teeth, and we just...
Had One???
And, it includes HOW Many Books? (Five from Germany c. 1601 and a blank one at last count...) #Vexierbuch #DosADos @newberrylibrary.bsky.social (Case C 823 .966)
Photograph of an American bison standing beside a fence at the London Zoo in 1906.
The research guide on Environmental History that I wrote for The National Archives, UK is now live! Includes research advice and resources on colonial environments, pollution, agriculture, and animal histories.
Available here: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-yo...
#envhist #envhum
Decorative cartouche from John Roque's New Plan of Richmond Garden (1748). Naked putti are at work in the garden: rolling the lawn, leaning on a spade and inspecting a garden plan.
Researching eighteenth-century garden labour. Apparently all the work is done by charming putti!
Engraving of Sir Joseph Banks as president of the Royal Society, by N Schiavonetti, 1812. Banks is seated in chair with a massive crest, considered to be in the worst possible taste by Saint-Fond.
Enjoying account of a 1784 Royal Society meeting by French geologist, Faujas de Saint-Fond.
Members were 'pretty much enlivened' after a dinner with vast quantities of drink. Joseph Banks presided in a 'colossal' ugly chair at a table covered by a huge red velvet cushion ('one cannot tell why').
Great to see recent posts on 'Tree Cultures' issue of Plant Perspectives. Delighted that importance of Heather Craddock's essay is noted (and nice summary of my own!)
@hcraddock.bsky.social @treeseeker.bsky.social @planthums-uk.bsky.social @whitehorsepress.bsky.social
herbariumworld.wordpress.com
1918 poster by Fred Taylor of storks at Kew Gardens, produced by the Underground Railways, for distribution to troops overseas.
The London Mayor's Office recently announced a scheme to reintroduce storks to London.
From 1890 storks formed one of the attractions of Kew Gardens:'their quaint appearance and philosophical habits make them rather in keeping with a botanical garden' (Journal of the Kew Guild, 1902).
Poster showing the seminar schedule. The image is of Louis XVI giving instructions
New seminars on Instructing Colonial Natural History 🌿 We can look forward to papers by Yunting Gu, Adriana Craciun and @nulybranch.bsky.social. For more info see instructingnaturalhistory.com (more info will be added). #skystorians #museums #collecting #histsci #envhist
Come listen to this talk by Dr Heather Craddock, my brilliant former PhD student. It's next Tues Jan 27, 10-11.30 GMT.
#KEW in #JAMAICA by @hcraddock.bsky.social - 2nd talk in #Gardens-Trust #online seminar series #Empires, #Plants & #Gardening' Jan 27 10-11:30 GMT More info & booking: eventbrite.co.uk/e/empires-pl... @kewgardens.bsky.social @UkNatArchives
A real pleasure to talk to Ian Brown from Toronto about the vital renovation of Kew's Palm House in The Globe and Mail
@rbgkew.bsky.social
Colourful cover of 1950 guide book The Romance of Kew: Where Flowers always bloom. Interior of Palm House with red hibiscus and snowy scene outside.
Open-the-flap of cover of guide, The Romance of Kew, reveals summer scene of the pagoda.
Charming open-the-flap cover of 1950 guide to Kew.
The wintery scene in the Palm House transforms to summer and a view of the Pagoda when the door opens. Truly, a garden for all seasons!
This looks great!
The wonderful Vinita Damodaran speaking on Tuesday, Feb 10 at 5:30 pm (GMT).
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonisi...
An excellent resource:
Three rake-wielding dancing gardeners. A hand coloured stencil illustration by Edward Bawden from Robert Herring's Adam and Evelyn at Kew (1930)
If anyone needs cheering up, here are three jolly dancing gardeners.
Edward Bawden's illustration from Robert Herring's wonderful Adam and Evelyn at Kew (1930).
Great thread from Sadiah Qureshi with some excellent suggestions for historical starter packs.
Delighted to see this recent article in the @smithsonianmag.bsky.social by @donnalferguson.bsky.social on some of the research outputs for the Naming Species in the South Pacific project: www.smithsonianmag.com/history/newl... With thanks to our collaborators, @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Thank you for this lovely obituary, Andrew. John supervised my DPhil. However witty and acerbic as a reviewer, he was gentleness itself with his students. He had the gift of appearing interested in whatever you had to say. I’m very grateful for his support and cherish the memory of his wry smile.
John Carey
We are incredibly sad to learn of the death of John Carey, whose last three books we were proud to publish at Yale. One of our greatest literary critics, John was a strong advocate for poetry and making it accessible. He was diligent and superb at what he did, but always with a sense of fun.
Thanks for this lovely tribute to the great John Carey, he meant so much to so many of us.
What a fantastic article and brilliant idea!
George Monbiot on ‘soilsmology’ and the birth of the Earth Rover Program:
//www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/05/agriculture-revolution-soil-farming-earth-rover-program?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Thrilled to see Ruthless reviewed in the FT by Linda Colley, and to be placed among the FT's books of the week too! 😊
www.ft.com/content/67c1...
The Chinese fan palm and cobra lily by Vishnuprasad from Henry Noltie’s Flora Indica, a masterpiece of botanical-art-historical detective work.
The book accompanies a stunning exhibition at Kew Gardens.
@rbgkew.bsky.social @willdalrymple.bsky.social
@sathnam.bsky.social
@eicathomefinn.bsky.social
The village women turned astro-ambassadors.
A good news story from Ladakh:
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Great piece on using historic archives to chart biodiversity loss - and a nice piece of (literal) field work!
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Huge thanks to the team at @plantperspectives.bsky.social @whitehorsepress.bsky.social and @sarahwhpress.bsky.social for creating such stunning designs for our special #arborealhumanities issue!
Check out all the beautifully crafted papers, poetry and reviews at whp-journals.co.uk/PP/issue/vie...
It's here!!! 200 pages of #research articles, #narrative #nonfiction, #poetry & #reviews - all on #trees! Many thanks to @whitehorsepress.bsky.social, @treeseeker.bsky.social & all our contributors url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/9ZIoCojPZH...
‘One of the most superbly beautiful of trees ... worth crossing the globe to see’.
For more on thawka-gyi or 'Pride of Burma', see the latest issue of Plant Perspectives. Open access:
www.whp-journals.co.uk/PP/article/v...
Front and back cover of Plant Perspectives vol 2.2 with image of installation 'Of the Oak' by Marshmallow Laser Feast in Kew Gardens 2025 on the cover.
Amherstia nobilis, hand-coloured lithograph by Maxim Gauci, based on drawing by Vishnuprasad from Nathaniel Wallich, Plantae Asiaticae Rariores 1 (1830).
What is the most beautiful flowering tree in the world? Find out in my essay for Plant Perspectives, ed. by the wonderful Caroline Cornish and Christina Hourigan.
Also features a brilliant essay on ackee by Heather Craddock,
@planthums-uk.bsky.social @treeseeker.bsky.social @hcraddock.bsky.social
