Craze for Collecting - A mid-summer Expedition to Yunnan

Were they intrepid explorers and suppliers of beauty and scientific advancement, or imperialist plunderers and destroyers of fragile environments? The reputation of plant-hunters as brave adventurers tracking down botanical wonders has taken something of a battering in recent years. Make your own mind up about their role and continuing importance as we share some plant-hunter stories in this new series. Learn about the exploits of the late-18th century ‘father’ of modern plant-hunting and the adventures of a once-celebrated woman who led botanical expeditions to the Andes. Hear tales from those who’ve followed in the footsteps of famous collectors, revisiting the native habitats of exotic plants which are now staples in the British garden, and ponder on ideas about the very different role of collectors today in plant conservation and public education.

This ticket is for this individual session and costs £8, and you may purchase tickets for the other individual session via the link below, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £35 via the link here. (Gardens Trust members £6 or £26.25).

Ticket sales close 4 hours before the first talk

Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days (and again a few hours) prior to the start of the first talk (If you do not receive this link, please contact us), and a link to the recorded session will be sent shortly after each session and will be available for 2 weeks.

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Week 1. 15th October: She Sleeps on a Volcano! Dora Stafford. First in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

Week 2. 22nd October: Sir Joseph Banks. Second in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

Week 3. 29th October: In the Footsteps of.. Third in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

Week 4. 5th November: A mid-summer Expedition to Yunnan. Fourth in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

Week 5. 12th November: Dispatches from the Cape. Last in this series of 5 online lectures, £8 each or all 5 for £35 (Gardens Trust members £6 each or all 5 for £26.25)

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Week 4. 5 November: A mid-summer Expedition to Yunnan with Seamus O’Brien

Yunnan province in western China is home to half of all China’s plant and animal species and 25 distinct ethnic groups. This lecture is based on an 18-day visit in June-July 2024 – peak flowering season during the height of the Indian monsoon – retracing routes taken by Captain Frank Kingdon Ward (1885 – 1958) in 1911 and 1913. From the ancient city of Lijiang, the lecture recounts visits to the Tibetan frontier region to see sacred peaks painted by the blossoms of rhododendrons and blue poppies, lakes fringed by meadows full of candelabra primulas and glades of giant Himalayan lilies beneath a diverse canopy of ancient trees.

Seamus O’Brien is Head Gardener at the National Botanic Gardens, Kilmacurragh, Co. Wicklow, the country estate and rural annex of the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin in Dublin. He received his formal horticultural training at Glasnevin and also holds an International Diploma in Botanic Gardens Management from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He has travelled extensively across the globe to study plants in their native habitats, most notably to China, Nepal, Tibet, California, Bhutan, Myanmar, Chile, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and, in more recent times to India, including successive trips to the Sikkim Himalaya. From these expeditions, he has published two award winning books; In the Footsteps of Augustine Henry and his Chinese collectors (Garden Art Press, 2011), and In the Footsteps of Joseph Dalton Hooker: A Sikkim Adventure (Kew Publishing, 2018).

Image: Black Dragon Pool Park, a Qing dynasty garden in Lijiang, photo ©Seamus O’Brien

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