Plant Hunters' Weekend
21st & 22nd July 2012, 11am - 5pm
Guided tours at midday and 2pm
The World Garden at Lullingstone Castle celebrates the lives of some of Britain’s most intrepid plant hunters every year, one weekend in July. The Plant Hunters’ Weekend explores the origins of some of the most common plants grown in our gardens today but which are not native to Britain. Few people realise that some 80% of the plants we grow are not actually native to Britain but were introduced by British plant hunters who often risked their lives to bring back rare and exotic species.
These intrepid people heroically discovered the far-flung botanical delights of the world and have inspired Tom Hart Dyke, as a modern-day plant hunter, to travel all over the world. He has travelled widely, including to Australia, South America and the Canary Islands (see inset of Tom in La Palma), collecting the seeds of potentially hardy, ornamental specimens – albeit in his case with the help of a jet plane instead of a ship!
These undeservedly sometimes forgotten courageous individuals are to be applauded for their noteworthy botanical introductions to Britain that have spiced up our gardens and have made our nation the envy of the horticultural world. These sometimes ‘nutty’, death defying plant hunters, over the last three centuries of amazing plant collecting have put the world of plants into our gardens.
Tom will lead guided tours at midday and 2pm [no booking required] exploring the life of Victorian plant hunter David Douglas (see drawing above right, drawn by Tom’s late Granny Mary Hart Dyke), in a fascinating and lively portrayal as he made his expeditions to North America where he was responsible for the introduction of the lupin (Lupinus polyphyllus) and the Californian poppy (Eschscholzia californica).
Modern-day plant hunting is still very much alive and Tom introduces visitors to some of the species that he has brought back to Lullingstone from his own plant hunting expeditions. His most recenttrip was to the Cape Verde islands in November 2011, but not every expedition has gone according to plan. Whilst plant hunting for rare orchids in Colombia, Tom and his travelling companion were taken hostage by Colombian guerrillas for nine months. Upon returning home to Lullingstone, Tom began the task of creating the World Garden which opened to visitors in 2005.
Younger visitors can enjoy their own plant hunting expedition by taking part in Tom’s ‘Plant Hunter Quiz’ and explore the Labyrinth, a complex series of winding paths which are created on the lawn in front of Lullingstone Castle by Hugh Nisbet.
Visitor feedback:
"Your plant hunter tour was extremely interesting and entertaining, and you had all obviously gone to a huge amount of effort. I thought everyone played their roles magnificently", July 2011
"In addition to your superb portrayal of David Douglas (and in particular your story of his sad but gory demise, with a hint of scandal), I greatly enjoyed the heroic Joseph Banks and the intrepid Marianne North was delightful". July 2011