維多利亞時代的植物獵人締造了英倫花園

譯/施慧靜

Many of our places were transformed by plant hunters.These men and women travelled the world bringing back the beautiful plants that continue to make our gardens special to this day.Here are some of the best examples.

植物獵人徹底改變了我們國家的許多地方。他們有男有女，曾踏遍全球帶回各種美麗的植物。這些奇花佳木至今仍使我們的花園別具風情。下面列舉了幾座最具代表性的英倫花園。

Bodnant Garden, Colwyn Bay

2Bodnant Garden was forged by the Victorian vision of one extraordinary man.It was established in 1874 by scientist, businessman and politician Henry Pochin.He and his family filled the garden with plants collected by famous global explorers, including Ernest Wilson, George Forrest and Harold Comber.It is home to the earliest and grandest laburnum arch, Britain’s earliest magnolias and to some unique rhododendron hybrids.It also boasts Wales’ largest collection of UK Champion Trees1冠軍樹，指某一特定地區內，某一樹種中擁有最高樹高或最大胸徑的樹。.

科爾溫灣的博德南特花園

2博德南特花園建構在維多利亞時代一位非凡之人的想象之上。1874 年，科學家、商人、政治家亨利·波欽建造了這座花園。波欽和家人一起在花園里種滿了著名探險家從世界各地采集來的植物。這群探險家里就有歐內斯特·威爾蓀、喬治·福里斯特和哈羅德·庫默。博德南特花園擁有搭建最早、規模最大的金鏈花拱門花架，也是英國最早栽種木蘭的地方，園內還能看到獨特的杜鵑花雜交品種。此外，這里擁有全威爾士最多的英國冠軍樹。

Gibside, Tyne & Wear

3Mary Eleanor Bowes collected plant species from all over the world.The Orangery2橘園，指帶玻璃墻和玻璃屋頂，為柑橘樹等植物保溫的建筑物。at Gibside was built around 1773 and, although now a ruin, once housed Mary Eleanor’s magnificent collection of exotic plants, which she amassed in the late 18th century.

Killerton, Devon

4In the early 19th century the nursery at Killerton expanded as owner James Veitch began employing plant hunters to bring back exotic plants from abroad.The sheltered conditions in the garden allowed the growth of camellias, magnolias, rhododendrons and trees from all continents except Antarctica.Some of the first giant redwoods to be planted in England were brought to Killerton from California in 1853 by William Lobb.

Mount Stewart, County Down

5 T h e g a r d e n a t M o u n t S t e w a r t r e-f l e c t s t h e a r t a n d v i s i o n o f E d i t h V a n e-T e m p e s t-S t e w a r t,M a r c h i o n e s s o f L o n-d o n d e r r y,w h o w a s a n i n f l u e n t i a l s o c i e t y h o s t e s s a n d g a r d e n e n t h u s i a s t.D u r i n g t h e 1 9 2 0 s s h e t o o k f u l l a d v a n t a g e o f t h e m i l d c l i m a t e o f S t r a n g f o r d L o u g h t o e x p e r i m e n t w i t h p l a n t s f r o m a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d t o c r e a t e a g a r d e n p r a i s e d b y U N E S C O f o r t h e‘e x t r a o r d i n a r y s c o p e o f i t s p l a n t c o l l e c t i o n s a n d t h e o r i g i n a l-i t y o f i t s f e a t u r e s,w h i c h g i v e i t w o r l d-c l a s s s t a t u s’.

泰恩-威爾郡的吉布塞德橘園

3瑪麗·埃莉諾·鮑斯從世界各地采集植物物種。她的橘園位于吉布塞德莊園，建于1773 年前后。盡管如今已成廢墟，但那里曾存放著瑪麗·埃莉諾十分可觀的藏品，都是她在18 世紀晚期搜集而來的異國花草。

德文郡的基勒頓莊園

419 世紀初，基勒頓莊園的主人詹姆斯·維奇開始雇用植物獵人為他從國外帶回奇異植物，于是園中苗圃的規模也隨之擴大。花園所處的適宜小環境讓山茶花、木蘭、杜鵑花和除南極洲以外各大洲的樹木得以茁壯成長。1853 年，威廉·洛布從加利福尼亞為英格蘭帶回了第一批巨杉，其中一部分就栽種在基勒頓莊園。

唐郡的斯圖爾特山莊園

5斯圖爾特山莊園的花園展現了倫敦德里侯爵夫人伊迪絲·文-坦皮斯特-斯圖爾特的藝術審美和獨到眼光。她是當時社交界里頗有影響力的女主人，也是園藝愛好者。20 世紀20 年代，她充分利用斯特蘭福德灣的溫和氣候，不斷試種來自世界各地的植物，打造出了后來被聯合國教科文組織盛贊為 “世界級的花園，植物種類多到令人驚嘆，景觀也極具獨創性”。

Quarry Bank, Cheshire

6The restored glasshouse in Quarry Bank’s Upper Garden opened in March 2017 and includes an exhibition space that will help bring the history of Quarry Bank’s garden to life.Using archive records, it explores the stories of the Victorian plant hunters who brought back rare and exotic plants from around the world.Visitors will be able to see them on display, just as the Gregs and their guests would have done.

Sheringham Park, Norfolk

柴郡的闊里河岸紡紗廠花園

62017 年3 月，復原后的闊里河岸紡紗廠北花園玻璃溫室對外開放，其中的展區生動呈現出了這座花園的歷史變遷。展區的檔案材料記載了維多利亞時代植物獵人的故事，他們從世界各地把稀有的異國植物帶回英國。今天的游客也能像當年廠主格雷格一家和他們的客人那樣，在展覽中欣賞到那些珍奇的植物。

諾福克郡的謝靈厄姆公園

7植物獵人改變了此地的自然風光和野生花園。這里栽種的植物最早可以追溯到19 世紀50 年代前后。“許多植物都有故事可講，大膽無畏、勇于冒險的植物獵人把它們從遙遠的國度帶回到我們的海岸。”園丁主管格雷厄姆·布倫南說道。比如，各種杜鵑花的種子是20 世紀伊始由植物采集者歐內斯特·“中國”威爾蓀帶回來的。他還把“手帕樹”引入了這座公園。

7The landscape and wild garden here has been transformed by plant hunters.The earliest plantings date back to around 1850.‘Behind many of the plants are stories of intrepid and adventurous plant hunters who brought them back to our shores from distant lands,’says Head Gardener, Graham Brennan.For example, seeds of various types of rhododendron were obtained around the turn of the 20th century from the plant collector Ernest ‘Chinese’ Wilson.He also brought the Handkerchief Tree3珙桐（Davidia involucrata）的別稱。珙桐是中國特有的單種屬植物，國家一級保護植物，第三紀古熱帶植物區系中的殘遺物種，世界著名的植物“活化石”，有“植物界大熊貓”之稱。珙桐的頭狀花序下有兩枚大小不等的白色苞片，呈長圓形或卵圓形。每當開花時，花朵遠遠望去就像一條條白色的手帕隨風起舞，因此又稱“手帕樹”。here.

Trengwainton House, Cornwall

8When Lt.Col.Edward Bolitho inherited the house and garden at Trengwainton in 1925, he set about transforming the garden with exotic species.He sponsored a plant-hunting expedition to Assam and the Mishmi Hills in 1927-8.Many of the specimens brought back from that venture had never been grown in the UK before.The rhododendrons at Trengwainton today were grown from seeds brought back by that expedition.■

康沃爾郡的特倫溫頓莊園

81925 年，陸軍中校愛德華·博萊索繼承了特倫溫頓莊園的房子和花園，他馬上就動手改造花園，栽種各類異國植物。1927 年到1928 年間，他資助植物獵人深入阿薩姆地區和米什米山。他們此行帶回了大量英國所沒有的植物標本。今天在特倫溫頓莊園盛開的杜鵑花，就是由那次探險所帶回的種子培育而來的。 □