Bedgebury Florilegium

About this book

Following the First World War, Kew conifer expert William Dallimore noticed that years of increasing industrial pollution in London were found to be adversely impacting the growth of the trees and went in search of a better environment to house Kew’s conifer collection. With varied topography and a mixture of soil types, Bedgebury near Flimwell in Kent proved to be ideal, and the first planting of trees grown at Kew took place there in 1925. Today, Bedgebury is home to nearly 12,000 tree specimens and is a centre for conifer science and conservation. At the heart of the book are the botanical paintings by the Bedgebury National Pinetum Florilegium Society. Founded in 2008, this group of botanical artists are dedicated to documenting the Pinetum’s remarkable plant collection through scientifically accurate and artistically stunning illustrations.

Customer Reviews

Biography

Christina Harrison (Hourigan) is an author and garden historian currently completing an AHRC techne-funded PhD researching the cultural history of Kew's arboretum and its tree collections.

Dan Luscombe is Collections Manager at Bedgebury National Pinetum, where he has worked for 25 years.