Strange Blooms

Paperback

Jennifer Potter

This dual biography follows the travels of the plant collectors John Tradescant (c.1570–1638), who visited Russia, the Middle East, the Netherlands and France, and his son, also named John (1608–62), who journeyed to Virginia. It explains how the specimens they brought to their house in Lambeth introduced many plants now familiar to British gardens, including magnolia, poppy, scented stock, Virginia creeper, and the hanging houseplant named after them.