When you peel a banana, or bite into a pear, when you smell a rose, pop a fuchsia bud or scrape your knee climbing an old pine tree, do you ever wonder how those plants came to this country?
This is the question that led me to researching and writing the story of the Wardian case, the glass and wooden box that transformed the global plant trade.
The story of The Amazing Case of Dr Ward begins in London.
It was the Golden Age of Botany and Dr Nathanial Bagshaw Ward loved growing plants. But there was a problem; no plant could thrive in the smog-filled air so he experimented with growing plants protected in sealed jars. Finding this successful, he was inspired to investigate further with all kinds of glass containers.
Meanwhile, it came to Dr Ward’s attention that others were having problems with their plants. On ships it was salt spray and animals (yes there were often animals like goats, monkeys and rats on the ships) rather than smog that was the problem. And the transportation of plants was critical to the success of the distant colonies and the collections in England.
In 1833, with the help of his friend, Captain Mallard, Dr Ward planned an experiment that involved sending plants in glass and wooden cases from London to the Sydney Botanical Gardens and back again.
The trial was a triumph. Within months, Wardian Cases, filled with plants, were being delivered around the globe; gardens, farms and landscapes would be transformed forever.
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The history of the transportation of plants is a complicated tale and within it there are themes of theft, imperial expansion, heartless colonisation and the spreading of pest species and pathogens. However my aim in sharing the story is simply to create curiosity about plants, the subject of botany and to ask young readers to think about how this country has been altered irrevocably by the introduction of ‘exotics’ for food, clothing, medicine, building and pleasure.
Oh my goodness! I just read what I wrote and if it sounds heavy - well the past does carry a weight - and as writer of 32 page non-fiction picture books for middle to upper primary-age children, decisions about content and tone are carefully measured against purpose. And that’s a subject we could all talk about ad infinitum!
Tull Suwannakit
For this book, Ford Street Publishing matched me with illustrator Tull Suwannakit. What are the odds of working with an artist with a passion for plants equal to my own! Tull has brought the delightful doctor to life, capturing his curiosity and love of experimenting. Tull’s gentle humour never distracts but rather deepens my text.
My thanks to Paul Collins (Ford Street) , editor Nan McNab and designer Cathy Larsens.
To order copies of The Amazing Case of Dr Ward and to download Teachers notes- click on FORD ST
