Garden Design

A curmudgeonly traveler, Marianne North went around the world—twice! alone!—during the Victorian era, armed with a parasol and an easel, determined to paint as many of the world's plants as possible.  The result, some 800 paintings of flora, many of which were unknown to European audiences, are on display at Kew Gardens, and her travel writings have been gathered in a new book, Abundant Beauty. We take a look at the life of this remarkable woman.

A physician by trade, botanic enthusiast, and accidental inventor, Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward devised the first terrarium in 1829, and thereby launched a new age of horticultural possibilities—where ferns and mosses would grow indoors, and tropical exotics would travel the world. 

Published in 1847, Les Fleurs Animées imagines a world where the flowers reclaim the meanings bestowed upon them by a covetous Victorian audience, and become actresses in their own drama. In J.J. Grandville's engraved illustrations, an exotic Lady Tulip bewitches, while fair young Forget-Me-Not mourns her loneliness.

Roses are the most popular flower for Valentine's Day, but did you know that different hues and varieties of roses have different meanings? If you're wondering how to best convey your passionate love, your chaste yearning, or alternatively, your disappointment in your relationship, there's a rose for you.