The Garden Plants Of China

It is hard to imagine gardens without peonies, flowering peaches, camellias, gardenias, azaleas, wisteria, forsythia, crabapples, and the host of other ornamentals that were introduced first in Chinese gardens. The Chinese plants with the greatest impact on the gardens of the world have actually come from Chinese gardens and nurseries.

CHINA is, indeed, the Mother of Gardens, for of the countries to which our gardens are most deeply indebted she holds the foremost place. From the bursting into blossom of the Forsythias and Yulan Magnolias in the early spring to the Peonies and Roses in summer and the Chrysanthemums in the autumn, China's contributions to the floral wealth of gardens is in evidence. To China the flower lover owes the parents of the modern Rose, be they Tea or Hybrid Tea, Rambler or Polyantha; likewise his greenhouse Azaleas and Primroses, and the fruit grower, his Peaches, Oranges, Lemons and Grapefruit. It is safe to say that there is no garden in this country or in Europe that is without its Chinese representatives and these rank among the finest of tree, shrub, herb and vine. It was in 1899 that I first set foot in China, to leave it finally in 1911. Until 1905 my collecting work was done in the interests of the well known English nursery firm of Veitch, now, alas! no longer in existence; from 1906 to 1911 it was on behalf of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. As a result of my plant hunting in China more than a thousand new plants are now established in gardens of America and Europe. The privilege and the opportunity were great and I claim only to have made full use of both. In the following pages will be found some account of my eleven years' wanderings and observations in the Flowery Kingdom. I have endeavored to give a general description of the flora and scenery of western China and of the manners and customs of the little known non-Chinese tribes inhabiting the Chino-Thibetan borderland. I saw China through the eyes of a nature lover and botanist interested in all phases of natural history. Ernest Henry Wilson Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University, February 15, 1929.

Celebrates the skilled gardeners of Imperial China through new research that opens a new chapter in the story of our garden plants.

The food plants of an area provide the material basis for the survival of its population, and furnish inspiring stimuli for cultural development. There are two parts in this book. Part 1 introduces the cultural aspects of Chinese food plants and the spread of Chinese culinary culture to the world. It also describes how the botanical and cultural information was acquired; what plants have been selected by the Chinese people for food; how these foodstuffs are produced, preserved, and prepared; and what the western societies can learn from Chinese practices. Part 2 provides the botanical identification of the plant kingdom for the esculents used in China as food and/or as beverage. The plants are illustrated with line drawings or composite photographic plates. This book is useful not only as a text for general reading, but also as a work reference. Naturally, it would be a useful addition to the general collection of any library.

A unique addition to the botanical literature, this book presents the flora of China in its astonishing diversity.

Describes more than 200 gardens in China from temple courtyards, ancient burial grounds, and imperial tombs to public parks, botanical gardens, and arboreta.