Botany and Gardens in Early Modern Ireland

Elizabethanne Boran, E. Charles Nelson & Emer Lawlor, editors

"Information on native and naturalized plants growing in Ireland before 1800 is relatively scant. Few herbarium specimens exist and descriptions of plantings in the great seventeenth- and eighteenth-century gardens are scarce. In 2017, a workshop on the subject was held in Dublin under the auspices of the Trustees of the Edward Worth Library and this handsome volume is the result; its contributors come from a range of disciplines, including botany, garden history, librarianship and philosophy ... This informative and readable book, enhanced by contemporary and modern illustrations, is a valuable addition to the record of Irish natural history". Mary Davies (Early Modern Ireland, published in issue 50.2 of Archives of Natural History)


“This beautifully produced, weighty volume provides a comprehensive history of botanical science and garden making in Ireland the 17th and 18th centuries … The book, printed on heavy, glossy paper is richly illustrated in full colour, appropriate for printing the numerous plant illustrations and portraits, including a magnificent portrayal of the eponymous Edward Worth in scarlet robes. Moreover, muted shades from sepia to grey-black, sometimes augmented with soft colour tints, are perfect for reproduction of the facsimiles of the many documents and book pages scattered liberally throughout the text … The book ends with a floristic flourish of histories and evocations of Early Modern Irish Gardens … An excellent index is included and most usefully, an Index of Plant Names. What a feast this book is, a rich serving of ‘Botany’ and ‘Gardens’, with Ireland at its heart, written by a distinguished team of authors and sensitive editors. It is, by turns, fascinating and informative, beautifully illustrated and an invaluable resource—simply a pleasure to read.” David S. Ingram FLS. The Linnean Vol. 39 (Number 3, December 2023)


“The green isle of Ireland has a deep and interesting history of botany and gardens. Botany & Gardens in Early Modern Ireland transports us to a time in Ireland when botany was emerging, New Science inspired a new scientific society, a physic garden was created, libraries were being formed that included herbals and floras and books on plant exploration and garden design, Irish people were exploring their flora June 2023 8 and writing about it, and a seed and nursery trade grew and flourished to serve gardeners and farmers and great estates. Most early writers about Ireland’s flora were not Irish, and many writings from outside about Ireland and its culture gave dismissive or disparaging perspectives. This book calls out those old, misbegotten views, bringing together 14 essays by 10 writers to present various parts of Ireland’s plant-related history, and a rich history it is … What a rich resource this book is. It is well illustrated and includes numerous footnotes (on the pages with the related text), as well as indexes of scientific and vernacular plant names along with a general index ... Caleb Threlkeld’s 1726 Synopsis contains this proclamation that one could imagine coming from all those long-ago Irish plant enthusiasts, as well as from their descendants in spirit who wrote and edited Botany & Gardens in Early Modern Ireland: “Let the polite World know, that Arts and Sciences flourish here, and are encouraged, as much as in any other Parts of Europe.” Thanks to them for this Irish history.” Charlotte Tancin, Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Newsletter. 

“This is a beautifully illustrated book, published in the past year, which explores sources for botany and gardening in 17th- and 18th-century Ireland. It investigates the contributions of individuals such as Philip O’Sullivan Beare and Thomas Molyneux in the 17th century ... The book sheds light on the books in early 18th-century libraries, such as that of Dr Edward Worth and also of Marsh’s Library in Dublin, and demonstrates the impact of the explorations of the Dutch East India Company on knowledge of the flora of distant lands ... This is a book that you may dip into and find yourself meandering from page to page as the content, so fascinating, has been put together expertly by the editors, Elizabethanne Boran, E. Charles Nelson and Emer Lawlor and other contributors Vandra Costello, Declan Dogue, Susan Hemmens, Madeline Hutchins, Patrick Kelly, Terence Reeves-Smyth and Regina Whelan-Richardson. If you have more than a passing interest in gardens and botany, or even if you simply enjoy the natural world and learning, this book is a pleasure and in promoting the library of Dr Edward Worth it has nailed it.” Peter Dowdall, The Irish Gardener (Irish Examiner)

"This is a handsome, informative book, enhanced by contemporary and modern illustrations. Its contributors and publishers can be proud." Mary Davies, History Ireland, May/June 2023.

"Beautifully illustrated and lavishly presented, this book covers the history of all things botanical from the 17th century to the 19th century, with material drawn from lots of unexpected places and people, as well as from more traditional sources. No history of anything stands alone and this horticultural history is fascinating in how it weaves itself through the social mores of the centuries, covering colonialism, medicine, religion, politics, architecture and art, quite apart from the gardening trends, the importation of plants from around the world, and the many uses, medicinal and otherwise, for wild plants." Anne Cunningham, The Meath Chronicle, March 2023.

"Words and pictures, books and libraries, gardens and herbaria, permeate the essays in this volume about botany and gardens in early modern Ireland. Together, these chapters demonstrate that Ireland, although situated on the periphery of Europe, was closely connected to the neighbouring lands whether as a source of novel plants for gardens or novel ideas about the scientific study of plants." Ireland of the Welcomes, Jan/Feb 2023.

“This handsome volume … its contributors come from a range of disciplines, including botany, garden history, librarianship and philosophy ... This informative and readable book, enhanced by contemporary and modern illustrations, is a valuable addition to the record of Irish natural history.” Mary Davies, Archives of natural history