Flowers and plants are a staple of British life. Nearly 40% of our population considers themselves to be gardeners, making this and associated activities a national pursuit. And yet, while we hold endless discussions over how to seed, grow, and disseminate our cherished plants, we still known relatively little about how they were collected, exchanged, circulated, identified, and modified, and how much art has shaped our understanding and appreciation of them. This publication, designed to accompany the homonymous exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, explores some of these plant stories through highlights from Oxford’s collections. Bringing together historical and scientific expertise, art and material culture, traditional and contemporary artworks, this book ultimately reflects on the long-lasting impact of flora on our society – and of us on it. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A journey through art and material culture on the transformational impact of plants and plant collecting. Accompanies a major exhibition to be held at the Ashmolean from March to the end of August 2026.
Foreword 7
\nAcknowledgements
\nThe Tradescants and Their Circle 11
\nDavid A. Berry
\nIn Focus: The ‘Tradescants’ Orchard’, MS Ashmole 1461 28
\nMike Webb
\nNetworks of Exchange: The Oxford Physic Garden 33
\nStephen Harris
\nIn Focus: Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort 54
\nIndia Cole
\nBotany and Books 59
\nStephen Harris
\nIn Focus: Making the Flora Graeca 76
\nStephen Harris
\nArt and Botany 81
\nMartyn Rix
\nIn Focus: The Bauer Brothers 106
\nStephen Harris
\nIn Focus: ‘Brilliant in the extreme’: The Botanical Drawings
\nof Sarah Anne Drake 110
\nLynn Parker
\nThe Business of Plants 115
\nStephen Harris
\nIn Focus: Tulips: Bulbs and Blooms between Asia and Europe 134
\nFrancesca Leoni
\nBotany and Empire 139
\nVinita Damodaran
\nIn Focus: Seven Eminent Botanists 157
\nMatthew Winterbottom
\nCreative Visions and Alternative Futures 161
\nFrancesca Leoni
\nIn Focus: Oxford’s Changemakers 177
\nFran Monks
\nCatalogue of Objects in the Exhibition 189
\nNotes 210
\nSelect Bibliography 216
\nContributors 223
\nImage credits 224<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":70021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[5523,21581],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-65356","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-art","7":"product_cat-natural-world","8":"author-by-author-david-berry","9":"author-by-author-francesca-leoni","10":"author-by-author-india-cole","11":"author-by-author-lynn-parker","12":"author-by-author-martyn-rix","13":"author-by-author-mike-webb","14":"author-by-author-stephen-harris","15":"author-by-author-vinita-damodaran","16":"publisher-ashmolean-museum","17":"series-exhibition-catalogue","19":"first","20":"instock","21":"shipping-taxable","22":"purchasable","23":"product-type-simple"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n