Reginald Farrer
Encyclopedia
Reginald John Farrer was a traveller and plant collector. He published a number of books, although is best known for My Rock Garden. He travelled to Asia
in search of a variety of plants, many of which he brought back to England
and planted near his home village of Clapham, North Yorkshire
.
because of numerous operations on a cleft palate he was educated at home. This developed in him a passionate and lifelong enthusiasm for high places and the mountain plants which grow in them. By 10 years of age he was a well-qualified field botanist
with a "fair knowledge of plant anatomy." At 14 years he made his first rock garden
in an abandoned quarry
.
He entered Oxford University
at 17 years of age and graduated in 1902, during his time there he helped make the rock garden at St John’s
. In 1902 Farrer embarked on the first of his expedition
s to Eastern Asia, visiting China
, Korea
and, particularly Japan
. He was there for eight months and influenced by Japanese gardening tastes and traditions, he developed his characteristically strong views on rock garden design, ‘where naturalism superseded formal artificiality, and where alpine plants were to grow in surroundings which, though ordered by man, copied as far as possible their original habitat
s’. These travels resulted in The Garden of Asia (1904).
Returning to England he attempted to become a novelist and poet but these publications were only mediocre. He eventually realised that his talents lay in gardening. In 1907 he published My Rock Garden which was a very popular and influential book which was kept continuously in print for more than 40 years. His next publications were Alpines and Bog Plants (1908), In a Yorkshire Garden (1909) and Among the Hills (1910). In 1913 he published The Dolomites: King Laurin's Garden which deals with plant hunting in the Italian Dolomites
.
At this time Farrer travelled widely in the mountains of Italy
, France
and Switzerland
, walking and climbing with gardener friends, including fellow plantsman E.A. Bowles. He also visited Ceylon
in 1907, becoming a Buddhist
at about this time.
Farrer was attracted by the horticultural possibilities of the introduction of new hardy rock plants to the British gardening public. With this in mind, he founded the Craven Nursery in Clapham, which specialised in Asian alpines, an enterprise which unfortunately foundered in the economic decline of the 1920s.
In 1914 Farrer and a companion, the Kew
-trained William Purdom
, set out on an ambitious expedition to Tibet
and the Province of Kansu
province of North-west China. He found there numerous hardy specimens which today enrich British gardens. Many bear his name, though the list would have been longer if Farrer had not sometimes neglected to collect, as well as plants and seeds, the herbarium specimens necessary for classification and naming. These two years of exploring and plant collecting are described in Farrer's 'On the Eaves of the World' (2 vols) (1917), and in the posthumous 'The Rainbow Bridge (1921).
Farrer drew many illustrations often painted in the most uncomfortable of circumstances, record, not an exact botanical resemblance, but Farrer's emotional reaction to the plant and its habitat. Many of these, and his landscape water-colours of Kansu and Tibet, were exhibited by the Fine Art Society in 1918.
Farrer’s diary conveys the practical difficulties which he faced, and provides a glimpse of his ebullient use of language: "June 2, 1919 ... I sat down to paint it (the most marvellous and impressive Rhododendron I've ever seen - a gigantic, excellent, with corrugated leaves and great white trumpets stained with yellow inside - a thing alone, by itself WELL worth all the journey up here and everything) and oddly enough I did not enjoy doing so at first... a first false start - a second, better, splashed and spoilt, then a mizzle, so that umbrella had to be screamed for and held up with one hand while I worked with the other. Then flies and torment and finally a wild dust storm with rain and thunder came raging over so that everything had feverishly to be hauled indoors and the Rhododendron fell over and all the lights and lines etc. were of course quite out of gear. However, I'd done as much as I could for the day by 5.30 but even then was so excited that I continued strolling in glorious meditation till dark and dinner. But one moral is - only paint when fresh or before the day's toils; as it is I must trench on tomorrow which ought to be wholly a rush of letters and articles for the next day's data that I mean to send off. June 3, 1919. The rhododendron gave me such a bad night... I set to however and satisfactorily finished it though it took till after 12."
‘Farrer's illustrations, together with the field notes, botanical specimens and seeds which he collected, provided valuable information to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
, where the Regius Keeper
, Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour
, took a special interest in Sino-Himalayan plants. Farrer's interest in sending back attractive new plants with horticultural potential, however, was sometimes at odds with Balfour's desire for a comprehensive inventory of all the plants of the region. Farrer's collecting trips are particularly interesting when viewed in the context of the global plant exchanges which occurred during British Imperial rule. During this time crops and other plants were transplanted from then-native habitats to others throughout the Empire for a variety of economic, medical and scientific reasons. At a domestic level, too, whilst Farrer and other plant collectors introduced new species to British gardens, sentimental colonists took with them plants, and animals, which reminded them of home.’
Farrer's final voyage was to the mountains of Upper Burma. He took as his companion E.H.M Cox, who recorded the trip in 'Farrer's Last Journey, Upper Burma 1919-20' (1926). This expedition proved less horticulturally successful than Farrer's earlier trip to Kansu, largely because the climate of the Burmese mountains had less in common with British conditions than that of Kansu.
Farrer died in 1920 in the remote Minshan mountains of Upper Burma at the early age of 40. Cox states that he died alone, but he was almost certainly accompanied by indigenous plant collectors from China and Burma who had been working with him. Cox also states that the probable cause of his death was diphtheria
. A few years later, however, one of the plant collectors who had worked for Farrer during his last year told botanist Joseph Rock
that he had died from alcohol poisoning. He was buried at Konglu
, Burma.
Farrer brought back plants from Asia that could be grown in a naturalistic style - not just by the rich who could afford expensive hothouses
and personal gardeners. In the words of Farrer’s biographer, Nicola Shulman, "He brought rock-gardening into the hearts of the British people."
Farrer himself wrote:
"You're on an uncharted mountainside and you have to first of all find the Plant in the summer on the way up the mountain."
"Then in the autumn, you have to find the same plant - if it hasn't been eaten or trodden on - hope it's set seed and that the seeds haven't fallen yet - and this is just the start."
His lasting legacy is a spectacular display of plants from the Himalayas which are today growing in a wild display around Ingleborough
. Himalayan rhododendron
, bamboo
and other unusual plants such as Lonicera syringantha and Rodgersia aesculifolia can be seen amongst Farrer’s Ingleborough display whilst in Clapham village itself Viburnum farreri and Potentilla fruticosa flourish.
Farrer was known as an eccentric and in one infamous incident, Farrer loaded a shotgun with seeds collected on his foreign travels, and fired them into a rock cliff and gorge near Clapham.
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
in search of a variety of plants, many of which he brought back to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and planted near his home village of Clapham, North Yorkshire
Clapham, North Yorkshire
Clapham is a village in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It was previously in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It lies within the Yorkshire Dales National Park 6 miles north west of Settle just off the A65.-History:...
.
Life
Farrer was born into a well-to-do family in Clapham, North Yorkshire, England. Due to a speech defectSpeech disorder
Speech disorders or speech impediments are a type of communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute.-Classification:...
because of numerous operations on a cleft palate he was educated at home. This developed in him a passionate and lifelong enthusiasm for high places and the mountain plants which grow in them. By 10 years of age he was a well-qualified field botanist
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
with a "fair knowledge of plant anatomy." At 14 years he made his first rock garden
Rock Garden
The Rock Garden or Rock Garden of Chandigarh is a Sculpture garden in Chandigarh, India, also known as Nek Chand's Rock Garden after its founder Nek Chand, a government official who started the garden secretly in his spare time in 1957. Today it is spread over an area of forty-acres , it is...
in an abandoned quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
.
He entered Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
at 17 years of age and graduated in 1902, during his time there he helped make the rock garden at St John’s
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
. In 1902 Farrer embarked on the first of his expedition
Expedition
An expedition typically refers to a long journey or voyage undertaken for a specific purpose, often exploratory, scientific, geographic, military or political in nature...
s to Eastern Asia, visiting China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and, particularly Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He was there for eight months and influenced by Japanese gardening tastes and traditions, he developed his characteristically strong views on rock garden design, ‘where naturalism superseded formal artificiality, and where alpine plants were to grow in surroundings which, though ordered by man, copied as far as possible their original habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s’. These travels resulted in The Garden of Asia (1904).
Returning to England he attempted to become a novelist and poet but these publications were only mediocre. He eventually realised that his talents lay in gardening. In 1907 he published My Rock Garden which was a very popular and influential book which was kept continuously in print for more than 40 years. His next publications were Alpines and Bog Plants (1908), In a Yorkshire Garden (1909) and Among the Hills (1910). In 1913 he published The Dolomites: King Laurin's Garden which deals with plant hunting in the Italian Dolomites
Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in north-eastern Italy. It is a part of Southern Limestone Alps and extends from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Valley in the east. The northern and southern borders are defined by the Puster Valley and the Sugana Valley...
.
At this time Farrer travelled widely in the mountains of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, walking and climbing with gardener friends, including fellow plantsman E.A. Bowles. He also visited Ceylon
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
in 1907, becoming a Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
at about this time.
Farrer was attracted by the horticultural possibilities of the introduction of new hardy rock plants to the British gardening public. With this in mind, he founded the Craven Nursery in Clapham, which specialised in Asian alpines, an enterprise which unfortunately foundered in the economic decline of the 1920s.
In 1914 Farrer and a companion, the Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
-trained William Purdom
William Purdom
William Purdom was a British plant explorer sent by Veitch and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University to the northern provinces of China in 1909. He collected and photographed plants for the Arboretum along China’s Yellow River for three years, 1909–1911. He was appointed Inspector of Forests...
, set out on an ambitious expedition to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and the Province of Kansu
Gansu
' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...
province of North-west China. He found there numerous hardy specimens which today enrich British gardens. Many bear his name, though the list would have been longer if Farrer had not sometimes neglected to collect, as well as plants and seeds, the herbarium specimens necessary for classification and naming. These two years of exploring and plant collecting are described in Farrer's 'On the Eaves of the World' (2 vols) (1917), and in the posthumous 'The Rainbow Bridge (1921).
Farrer drew many illustrations often painted in the most uncomfortable of circumstances, record, not an exact botanical resemblance, but Farrer's emotional reaction to the plant and its habitat. Many of these, and his landscape water-colours of Kansu and Tibet, were exhibited by the Fine Art Society in 1918.
Farrer’s diary conveys the practical difficulties which he faced, and provides a glimpse of his ebullient use of language: "June 2, 1919 ... I sat down to paint it (the most marvellous and impressive Rhododendron I've ever seen - a gigantic, excellent, with corrugated leaves and great white trumpets stained with yellow inside - a thing alone, by itself WELL worth all the journey up here and everything) and oddly enough I did not enjoy doing so at first... a first false start - a second, better, splashed and spoilt, then a mizzle, so that umbrella had to be screamed for and held up with one hand while I worked with the other. Then flies and torment and finally a wild dust storm with rain and thunder came raging over so that everything had feverishly to be hauled indoors and the Rhododendron fell over and all the lights and lines etc. were of course quite out of gear. However, I'd done as much as I could for the day by 5.30 but even then was so excited that I continued strolling in glorious meditation till dark and dinner. But one moral is - only paint when fresh or before the day's toils; as it is I must trench on tomorrow which ought to be wholly a rush of letters and articles for the next day's data that I mean to send off. June 3, 1919. The rhododendron gave me such a bad night... I set to however and satisfactorily finished it though it took till after 12."
‘Farrer's illustrations, together with the field notes, botanical specimens and seeds which he collected, provided valuable information to the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Originally founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies four sites across Scotland — Edinburgh,...
, where the Regius Keeper
Regius Professor of Botany, Glasgow
University of GlasgowThe Regius Chair of Botany at Glasgow University is a Regius Professorship established in 1818.A lectureship in botany had been founded in 1704. From 1718 to 1818, the subject was combined with Anatomy...
, Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour
Isaac Bayley Balfour
Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour FRS FRSE was a Scottish botanist. He was the son of John Hutton Balfour who was also a botanist.-Biography:...
, took a special interest in Sino-Himalayan plants. Farrer's interest in sending back attractive new plants with horticultural potential, however, was sometimes at odds with Balfour's desire for a comprehensive inventory of all the plants of the region. Farrer's collecting trips are particularly interesting when viewed in the context of the global plant exchanges which occurred during British Imperial rule. During this time crops and other plants were transplanted from then-native habitats to others throughout the Empire for a variety of economic, medical and scientific reasons. At a domestic level, too, whilst Farrer and other plant collectors introduced new species to British gardens, sentimental colonists took with them plants, and animals, which reminded them of home.’
Farrer's final voyage was to the mountains of Upper Burma. He took as his companion E.H.M Cox, who recorded the trip in 'Farrer's Last Journey, Upper Burma 1919-20' (1926). This expedition proved less horticulturally successful than Farrer's earlier trip to Kansu, largely because the climate of the Burmese mountains had less in common with British conditions than that of Kansu.
Farrer died in 1920 in the remote Minshan mountains of Upper Burma at the early age of 40. Cox states that he died alone, but he was almost certainly accompanied by indigenous plant collectors from China and Burma who had been working with him. Cox also states that the probable cause of his death was diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
. A few years later, however, one of the plant collectors who had worked for Farrer during his last year told botanist Joseph Rock
Joseph Rock
Joseph Francis Charles Rock was an Austrian-American explorer, geographer, linguist and botanist.-Life:He was born in Vienna, Austria, but emigrated to the United States in 1905 and moved to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1907, where he eventually became an authority on the flora there...
that he had died from alcohol poisoning. He was buried at Konglu
Konglu
Konglu is a town in northeast Kachin State in Myanmar approximately 55 kilometres from the Yunnan provincial border of southwest China.The English botanist and plant collector Reginald Farrer was buried in Konglu in 1920...
, Burma.
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
and personal gardeners. In the words of Farrer’s biographer, Nicola Shulman, "He brought rock-gardening into the hearts of the British people."
Farrer himself wrote:
"You're on an uncharted mountainside and you have to first of all find the Plant in the summer on the way up the mountain."
"Then in the autumn, you have to find the same plant - if it hasn't been eaten or trodden on - hope it's set seed and that the seeds haven't fallen yet - and this is just the start."
His lasting legacy is a spectacular display of plants from the Himalayas which are today growing in a wild display around Ingleborough
Ingleborough
Ingleborough is the second highest mountain in the Yorkshire Dales. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the other two being Whernside and Pen-y-ghent. Ingleborough is frequently climbed as part of the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, which is a 24-mile circular challenge walk starting and...
. Himalayan rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
, bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
and other unusual plants such as Lonicera syringantha and Rodgersia aesculifolia can be seen amongst Farrer’s Ingleborough display whilst in Clapham village itself Viburnum farreri and Potentilla fruticosa flourish.
Farrer was known as an eccentric and in one infamous incident, Farrer loaded a shotgun with seeds collected on his foreign travels, and fired them into a rock cliff and gorge near Clapham.
Plants named after Farrer
A number of plants are named after Farrer, Cox’s book 'The Plant Introductions of Reginald Farrer', published in 1930 describes Farrer's legacy of plants cultivated from seed collected by him.- Allium farreri in the genus AlliumAlliumAllium is a monocot genus of flowering plants, informally referred to as the onion genus. The generic name Allium is the Latin word for garlic....
- Amitostigma farreri in the genus AmitostigmaAmitostigmaAmitostigma Schltr. 1919, is a genus in the orchid family .It is an exclusively Asian genus of 27 orchids, growing in the alpine habitats of east Asia, India, eastern Himalaya, China, and Japan to Kuril Islands. Twenty two species of this genus grow in China.These are dwarf terrestrial orchids,...
- Bulbophyllum farreriBulbophyllum farreriBulbophyllum farreri is a species of orchid in the genus Bulbophyllum.-References:**...
in the genus BulbophyllumBulbophyllumBulbophyllum is the largest genus in the orchid family Orchidaceae. With more than 2,000 species, it is also one of the largest genera of flowering plants, exceeded only by Astragalus... - Codonopsis farreri in the genus CodonopsisCodonopsisCodonopsis is a genus of flowering plant within the family Campanulaceae. It is allied to Campanumoea and Leptocodon, and some authors suggest that Codonopsis should include these genera...
- Cypripedium farreri in the genus CypripediumCypripediumCypripedium is a genus of 47 species of lady's-slipper orchids native to temperate and colder regions of the Northern Hemisphere.Some grow in the tundra in Alaska and Siberia, which is an unusually cold habitat for orchids. They can withstand extreme cold, growing under the snow and blooming when...
- Gentiana farreri in the genus GentianGentianGentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Gentian family , tribe Gentianeae and monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species, it is considered a large genus.-Habitat:...
a - Geranium farreri in the genus Geranium
- Picea farreriPicea farreriPicea farreri is a species of conifer in the Pinaceae family.It is found in possibly China and Myanmar. The only confirmed occurrence is in the Fen-Shui-Ling Valley on the Myanmar-China border.It is threatened by habitat loss and logging....
in the genus PiceaSpruceA spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical... - Viburnum farreri in the genus ViburnumViburnumViburnum is a genus of about 150–175 species of shrubs or small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny...
Biographies
- Nicola Shulman (2002) A Rage for Rock Gardening: The Story of Reginald Farrer (London: Short Books)
- E H M Cox (1930) The plant introductions of Reginald Farrer (London: New flora and silva Ltd.)