Medlars, Ornamental Grasses, and Elizabeth Blackwell

Gardening with the RHS

Royal Horticultural Society

Home & Garden, Leisure, Hobbies

4.4 • 654 Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2024

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week we explore the fascinating stories and brilliant work of three exceptional plantswomen. Only recently has pioneering 18th-century herbalist Elizabeth Blackwell received proper recognition for her work A Curious Herbal – a beautifully illustrated botanical text that was, for centuries, mistakenly attributed to her scandal-prone husband! Fiona Davison, Head of RHS Libraries & Exhibitions, shares insights into Blackwell’s life and her groundbreaking work, which was created at a time of rapid botanical discovery in Europe as exotic plants flooded into the Western world. We also hear from passionate plantswoman Jane Steward, a dedicated advocate for the medlar, a rare fruit that was once beloved across the UK – even by King Henry VIII. And finally horticulturist Sarah Wilson-Frost from RHS Garden Hyde Hall will be sharing some excellent advice on growing ornamental grasses to add year-round interest to your garden. Host: Gareth Richards Contributors: Jane Steward, Fiona Davison, Sarah Wilson-Frost, Jenny Laville Other Links: A Curious Herbal RHS Hyde Hall How to grow medlars RHS advice on growing ornamental grasses When is a grass not a grass?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Get your tickets for the greatest show in Earth at an RHS garden near you.
0:05.1	Where nature puts on an unforgettable performance of colour and fragrance.
0:09.3	The scenery changes many times in one season and our finest trees will happily play the part of...
0:14.7	The best hiding place ever.
0:17.4	Booth!
0:18.2	Put your day out of dreams in the hands of the experts.
0:21.6	It's the greatest show in Earth.
0:23.7	At an RHS garden near you.
0:25.5	Book tickets online for discounts plus under fives go free and under 16 to five pounds.
0:30.9	The seed is used for the stone.
0:33.9	Stranguery.
0:35.4	Heat of urine.
0:37.0	Burning fevers and pleuracies.
0:38.3	Diasgorides says the fruit cheers, decayed spirit,
0:42.3	and recommends the leaves build with wine,
0:44.3	mixed with honey as a cure for the bite of a dog.
0:47.3	This was how Elizabeth Blackwell,
0:50.3	pioneering 18th century herbalist, described the garden cucumber in her 1737 herbal.
0:56.5	Herbal such as Blackwells once served as essential, sometimes life-saving resources.
1:00.7	For thousands of years, these volume shared insights into the healing power of plants.
1:04.9	One of the oldest examples is a Sumerian clay tablet from around 3,000 BC, listing over 250 medicinal plants like poppy, henbane and mandrake.
1:13.6	Today we'll delve into the botanical illustrator and writer Elizabeth Blackwell's extraordinary story.
	...

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