George Thorburn - The Veitch Dynasty

On 24^th September, Hawick Rotary member George Thorburn gave a most interesting illustrated talk entitled The House of Veitch. John Veitch was born at Ancrum in 1752, trained with Dickson's of Hawick and in Hammersmith, London before taking up employment as a landscape gardener and estate manager near Exeter. He went on to lead a dynasty of plant nurserymen, one son, James, establishing himself at Chelsea, buying the Royal Exotic Nurseries – with four acres of heated glasshouses, and another son, Robert, growing the Exeter business. The two branches formally split in 1853, and grandsons Harry Veitch and John Gould Veitch then carried the respective firms on into the 20^th Century.

Between 1840 and 1910, Veitchs employed 23 plant hunters in South and Central America, Oceania, Asia and southern Africa. They brought back ranges of ferns, orchids, trees, shrubs and herbs and many of these were then further developed by a team of 12 hybridists, making thousands of new varieties which were much sought after for Victorian gardens. Such plants as Araucaria (Monkey Puzzle), Magnolia, Davidia Involucrate (Handkerchief tree), Phormium and Clematis were discovered overseas and introduced to Britain by the Veitch team, while new varieties of orchids were created in the Veitch greenhouses.

Harry Veitch (1840-1924) increased the nursery properties in London to four areas. In 1913 he organised a Royal International Horticultural Exhibition on the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea and following its success he proposed that the site be used for an annual RHS Spring Flower Show, the beginning of the Chelsea Flower Show. He became known as the world leader in orchid hybridisation, but retired in 1912, was knighted in that year, and closed the business in 1914, selling off the properties.

President George Hogg gave a well deserved Vote of Thanks.