Strange Blooms: The Curious Lives and Adventures of the John Tradescants

by Jennifer Potter

A biography of the seventeenth-century father and son naturalists discusses their travels in foreign countries in search of plants to introduce to Britain, their work as gardeners to royalty, and their contributions to botany.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, British Literature, Science, Gardening, Natural History, Biography

496 pages, Hardcover

First published October 26, 2006

About the author

Jennifer Potter, born in 1949, writes about the history and culture of plants, plantsmen and gardens. She reviews regularly for the Times Literary Supplement, and has been variously a Royal Literary Fund Fellow, a Hawthornden Fellow and an Honorary Teaching Fellow on the Warwick Writing Programme.

Reviews

[Susie Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A work colleague lent this book to me. I'm not a gardener but I do love history and I found this to be a fascinating account of the two John Tradescants, gardeners and collectors who were at the forefront of an era of great change in 1600s England.

While the book's main focus was on the lives of the father and son, it strayed often onto other interesting paths of history but always circled back to make the connection to the Tradescants. Sometimes the long lists of plant names were a bit much but I loved the many quotes taken from the writings of the era, particular the mad spellings of words like 'souldger' and 'yron' and at least six spelling variations of Tradescant. All in all, it was a delightful read!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed more editing
But daily life in seventeenth century London interesting

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wasn’t keen on the writing style.

[John Newcomb]

An engrossing history of 17th Century gardening in England centred on two ceebrity gardeners.

[Snillocygreg · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extensive history of two plant collectors, father and son, sharing a name. Strange Blooms set out in the mind that both John Tradescants' lives were exciting and dramatic because of their exploits. After reading this, it seems like the drama and mystery was mostly conjecture and because they lived in exciting times. They weren't the only exotic plant importing pioneers, despite playing a large part and managing to cultivate them in an English climate. Did enjoy the bit where Ashmole allegedly got the younger Tradescant drunk and got him to sign away his inheritance.

Every other chapter was interesting. Every other chapter was a list of facts or transcript. I personally feel like some of the history was unnecessary and made the text harder to follow. But when Potter knew where the story was going, or wasn't, it got interesting again.

It's okay. It's not great. But the history of how the plants arrived is well researched. It wants to be dramatic and informative but the balance isn't quite right. Even so, it was surprisingly fast to read because the language was surprisingly accessible. When it wasn't word for word seventeenth century transcriptions, spelling and all.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because of my interest in the Tradescants as museum builders and collectors. I knew very little about the history of gardens in England, so much of what the author had to say was completely new to me and shed a lot of light on the Tradescants (father and son), their travels, and the society they lived in. Gardeners will find this book more interesting than non-gardeners, however.

[Deb Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historical background for plantologists. I like reading about history from domestic perspectives - by that I mean Not War. Sometimes I think 90 percent of history is written through the lens of war. This book is sourced through the records of the Tradescants - father and son - who travelled and acquired plants for the British aristocracy. The proliferation of fruits and vegetables and flowers and foliage we enjoy today is the result of the work of men such as these.

[Ellie]

It would genuinely be unfair of me to review this book because I have no interest in gardening or the Tradescants (it was a gift). I do love the historical period, but not the historical methods for grafting fruit.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating, and a must-read for anyone who's interested in both history AND gardening (I'm not so interested in gardening to be honest, but still enjoyed this).