Comments from Mr. PGC: Throughout history, many people have made lasting contributions to the world of plants. In these pages, we hope to pay tribute to some of them. Our concentration will be primarily on those who have introduced plants to the gardening world, those who have helped spread the word about gardening and those who have made significant contributions to landscaping and landscaping design around the world.

This list will be constantly growing as we add new names. If you have someone who you think should be on the list, please send us an Email.

Dahl was a Swedish botanist and a student of pioneer taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus. The genus, Dahlia, is named after him. After studying at the Uppsala University and the University of Kiel, Germany, he taught medicine and botany at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Dahl was a renowned botanist and publisher of Observationes botanicæ circa Systema vegetabilium divi a Linné.

French Father David, was sent to China as a missionary. He was a man of wide interests beyond his religion including botany, zoology, geology and ornithology.

While attending to his priestly duties, he also had time to collect and record 250 new plant species including Davidia involucrata, Rodgersia aesculifolia, Photonia davidiana, Acer davidii, rosa davidii, Astilbe chinensis var. davidii, Buddleja davidii, Chrysosplenum davidianum, Clematis armandii, Lilium davidii, Pinus armandii, Populus tremula var. davidiana.

The first European botanist in western China. He discovered many garden plants in Yunnan among the 1,500 species he is said to have discovered. He was the first to record the blue poppy, Meconopsis betonicifolia. A magnolia (Magnolia delavayi) and silver fir (Abies delavayi) bear his name.

Other plants that bear his name are Thalictrum delavayi, Paeonia delavayi and Incarvillea delavayi.

British nurseryman and botanist for whom the genus, Dicksonia, was named.

 

A German physician, Dieffenbach was also a geologist and naturalist. He was one of the first to explore much of New Zealand and published a book titled, Travels in New Zealand in 1843. The genus, Dieffenbachia (Dumbcane), was named for him.

Irish plantswoman and garden writer known for her garden in Dublin. She has lectured and collected plants in several countries and is a regular on gardening television and in the news papers. Her books include Garden Artistry and Helen Dillon on Gardening.

Plants named in her honor include Heuchera 'Helen Dillion' and Scabiosa 'Helen Dillon'.

Michael A. Dirr is a professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia. He is the author of eleven books, including Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs and the Manual of Woody Landscape Plants.

A native of Scone in Scotland, David Douglas studied as an apprentice at the Glasgow Botanic Gardens. On the recommendation of Sir William Hooker, he was employed by the Horticultural Society of London (later the Royal Horticultural Society) to travel to America's west coast and gather vast quantities of seed from species previously unknown in Great Britain, including the Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum) and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis).

Plants Douglas introduced include Spiraea douglasii, Limnanthes douglasii, Garrya elliptica, Clarkia, Godetia, Gaillardia, Lupinus, Collinsia, Mimulus, Eschscholtzia, Berberis aquifolium, and Penstemon. 

Plants including Iris douglasiana, Limnanthes douglasii, Phlox douglasii, Douglasia nivalis (mountain pink), Acer glabrum var. douglasii (Douglas’s maple), Cicuta douglasii (water-hemlock), and Polygonum douglasii (Douglas’s knot-weed) are named for him.

While collecting in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), he fell into one of the pits made to catch wild bulls. Unfortunately, there was a mad bull already in residence and Douglas was gored to death. He was only 35 years of age.

Downing is considered the founder of landscape gardening in the U.S. While Olmstead worked with the grander landscapes on a larger scale, Downing dealt more with the American middle-class homes. He was a nurseryman and his emphasis was more on gardening and plants.

His landscapes were influenced by the English ones and were natural in appearance. He wrote his influential book, The Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening, in 1849.

English pharmacist who was mayor of Oxford in 1900. He collected about 200,000 plants from the British Isles for the Oxford Herbarium.

The species, Geranium x oxonianum ‘Claridge Druce’ is named for him.

French architect who specialized in restoration of classical French gardens such as the châteaux of Vaux-le-Vicomte, Courances and Corbeil Cerf in France and Schlosspark Nordkirchen in Germany. He was associated with the pools and Mermaid Fountain at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
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