On Thursday 2nd April George Thorburn gave an illustrated talk entitled “The Plant Hunters”. He showed Hawick’s hidden role in Britain’s botanical and taxonomic history in the collection of hitherto unknown ornamental and medicinal plants introduced to Britain.
He began by explaining that plants arrived in Britain long before modern botany—sometimes deliberately, sometimes as accidental “souvenirs” carried by sailors, traders and armies. Early introductions attributed to the Romans, Vikings, Angles and Saxons include fruits, herbs and culinary staples that became everyday parts of life. Strange imports included Ground Elder which the Romans used as salad leaves.
Britain’s ability to rule the waves led to further exploration, and commerce influenced what grew in Britain. Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the world c.1580 saw the introduction of crops such as potatoes & tomatoes & tobacco. By the 1600s, global trade networks—most notably through the British East India Company—moved vast quantities of tea, spices and other plant products, leaving a lasting imprint on British tastes, science and horticulture.
When the Royal Navy was formed in 1660 their survey research ships played a crucial role, frequently carrying botanists and naturalists as well as cartographers. Sir Joseph Banks, a wealthy aristocratic landowner and botanist sailed with Cook on the Endeavour twice. Banks was appointed by George III as the first Regius Keeper of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
He made Kew a world-leading botanic garden and herbarium and was responsible for funding numerous plant hunters and obtaining tens of thousands of specimens, new to the British Isles. Another survey ship, HMS Beagle, carried Charles Darwin who collected extensive plant material while developing ideas that transformed natural history. Thousand of his herbarium specimens are held at Cambridge University along with 450 at Kew.
The first Hawick connection centres on Robert Dickson of Heronhill Farm, who established the first large tree nursery in Britain at Hassendeanburn in 1728. Under the Dickson family the enterprise expanded dramatically, with nurseries along the Teviot and a workforce that, by 1800, included around 100 men and seasonal women—evidence of how plant supply became an industry as estates sought trees and new varieties.
The Dickson story also widened beyond Hawick, with branches establishing nurseries in Edinburgh at Broughton and Leith Walk and a rose specialist nursery was established in Perth and in Northern Ireland. The fifth generation of Dickson’s started a major operation at Sealand near Chester that became Bees of Chester when Arthur Bulley bought it to make it into the largest seedsman and garden plant nursery in Britain. Bulley also financed plant hunter expeditions and built The Ness Botanic Gardens at Neston in Cheshire, now linked to Liverpool University
Two Dickson apprentices went on to become major names in horticulture. John Veitch, born in 1752 at Ancrum, where his father was a gardener trained at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and later Kew. He was then selected to join the firm of Lees Vineyard Nurseries in Hammersmith which he took over and formed Veitch’s Nurseries in Chelsea, Veitch Nurseries grew into a leading Victorian and early 20th Century nursery dynasty. William Kerr, born in Harwood in 1779 was also apprenticed in Hawick, and through introductions by Dr John Hope, the Regius Keeper of RBG Edinburgh was appointed to collect rare and ornamental plants for Kew by Banks. Kerr introduced 250 new plants to Europe from China and the Philippines, including species still familiar in gardens today, with Kerria Japonica later named in his honour, as well as Kerr’s Gin.
The talk ended with a profile of George Forrest, VMH who collected for the RBG Edinburgh from 1903 until his death in 1932 in China. He collected in the Yangtse basin, Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet in seven gruelling expeditions and many of his projects were funded by Bees of Chester, the offshoot of Dickson’s of Heronhill. Forrest brought back over 31,000 specimens held by RBG Edinburgh.
Judy Tyler gave a warm vote of thanks and the evening closed with a toast to Rotary, the World over.
Linden Warburton has also provided an update on the Lend With Care scheme.
Since end of January five loans have been made - four at £30, and one at £100, and repayments of £138 have been received.
The account balance currently stands at £58.
From inception, the scheme has now given out 178 loans, amounting to £7323, and 137 of these have been fully repaid.