Flora, seu, de florum cultura

Flora, seu, de florum cultura, or, a complete florilege furnished with all the requisites belonging to a florist

Flora

De florum cultura

Complete florilege

1665

Ec/1665/R [De Beer Special Collections]

Printed by J.G. for Richard Marriott: London

ohn Rea (d. 1681) was a professional nurseryman and garden designer who wrote just one gardening book: Flora Ceres & Pomona (1665). His audience were ‘florists', the term then used for flower fanciers and collectors. Having found Parkinson's 1628 book out-dated, he prepared this work with three sections: Flora, dealing with the making of enclosed flower gardens and ornamental orchards; Ceres, listing the best varieties of annual flowers grown from seed; and Pomona, introducing ornamental fruits, climbers and flowering shrubs. Besides descriptions of the best varieties of bulbs, flowers and fruits, Rea meticulously listed the necessary tools. It was acknowledged as the most important manual on flower gardening of the later 17th century.

Marriot, Richard