For All The Tea in China; How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History………… by Sarah Rose

This book is the true story of a 19th century botanist, Robert Fortune, who traveled undercover for the East India Company in Qing China to steal tea plants and trade secrets for England. It was the largest and most significant act of corporate espionage in the history of the world. For All the Tea in China is delightful to read.

Sarah Rose wrote this historical narrative like an adventure novel. Besides being full of interesting historical facts, the story has suspense, intrigue, exploitation and explorations. It’s a true story of corporate espionage where pirates, warlords and other eccentric characters lead us through exotic locations and tense situations. Where Victorian capitalism, botanical desire and a national addiction pushes nations into war and causes one man to risk his life for one plant, Camellia sinensis…TEA.

So brew yourself a nice cup of tea, sit down with this book and enjoy.
Carlotta Lucas
ACG Book Club & Blog Editor

In September, the AGC book club read and discussed, “Elizabeth and Her German Garden” by Elizabeth von Arnim.

An admired literary figure of her time, von Arnim wrote this semi-autobiographical novel of her life on a Prussian estate in the late 1800’s, where she spent most of her time planning and creating a garden around Nassenheide, a German country home. Although her descriptions of her life there are often tongue-in-cheek, it is evident that she had a real love of nature and plants. Sadly, the times did not allow a woman to do hands on gardening, and Elizabeth had to settle for supervising untrained staff to fulfill her garden dreams.

Joanie Kintscher
AGC Book Club

THE COLLECTOR: DAVID DOUGLAS & THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST by Jack Nisbet

The Collector is about David Douglas(1799-1834), a self-taught botanist from Scotland who was hired by the Royal Horticultural Society to explore the Pacific Northwest for plants. Jack Nisbet, the author, tells the story of this much admired botanist using snippets of Douglas personal journal woven throughout the book.

David Douglas arrived at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River in 1824, 18 years after Lewis and Clark had reached the Pacific. Douglas’ passion for nature made him steadfast and determined in his explorations. In the two years he explored the west coast he traversed more than 10,000 miles through rugged territory. With an acute sense of observation, he collected and cataloged hundreds of species of flora and fauna for the R.H.S.

Douglas was good natured, diplomatic, stubborn and a good marksman. All these traits helped him negotiate his encounters with native Americans, French trappers, and scores of interesting people he met during his travels. Douglas endured many hardships during this expedition, but his plant-hunting success was beyond all expectations. He is responsible for introducing 240 Pacific Northwest plants into Britain’s landscape with the most notable being the Douglas fir, which is named in his honor. This conifer significantly transformed Britain’s landscape and timber industry.

Douglas introduced numerous other trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs to British gardeners and there are over eighty species of plants (and animals) which have douglasii in their scientific names, such as the Douglas maple, Douglas dustymaiden, Douglas spirea, Western water-hemlock, Douglas aster, and Quercus douglasii. In 1834, David Douglas’ life was cut short when he died under mysterious circumstances in Hawaii while climbing Mauna Kea; he was only 35 years old.

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Acer glabrum
Douglas Maple

Spiraea douglasii
Douglas Spirea

Cicuta douglasii. –
Western Water-hemlock
“Poisonous”

Aster subspicatus – Douglas Aster

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The book club members found the subject of this book fascinating, but they unanimously voted The Collector as being “poorly written”!…………….A.G.C. Book Club

2009 Author & Book Titles
KLINDIENST, PATRICA – THE EARTH KNOWS MY NAME
BROWNING, DOMINIQUE – PATHS OF DESIRE
POLLAN, MICHAEL – THE BOTANY OF DESIRE
ALBERT, SUSAN WITTIG – THYME OF DEATH
CAPEK, KAREL – THE GARDENER’S YEAR
KINGSOLVER, BARBARA – ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE
WARD, FRANK KINGDON – IN THE LAND OF BLUE POPPIES
HOBHOUSE, HENRY – SEEDS OF CHANGE
ARKELL, REGINALD – OLD HERBACEOUS

2010 Author & Book Titles
PERENYI, ELEANOR – GREEN THOUGHTS
MONTEFIORE, SANTA – THE FRENCH GARDENER
HELPHAND, KENNETH – DEFIANT GARDENS
SWANN, E.L. – NIGHT GARDENING
AMITH, JANE – GARDEN OF INVENTION
POLLAN, MICHAEL – THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA
STEWART, AMY – FLOWER CONFIDENTIAL
RAPP, CAROLYN – GARDEN VOICES

2011 Author & Book Titles
KALISH, MILDRED – LITTLE HEATHENS:HARD TIMES & HIGH SPIRITS ON AN IOWA FARM…
MARTIN, TOVAH – TASHA TUDOR’S GARDEN
NICHOLS, BEVERLEY – DOWN THE GARDEN PATH
TWO GARDENERS KATHARINE S. WHITE & ELIZABETH LAWRENCE:A FRIENDSHIP IN LETTERS
MILLS, MARK – THE SAVAGE GARDEN
VON ARNIM, ELIZABETH – ELIZABETH AND HER GERMAN GARDEN
NISBET, JACK – THE COLLECTOR: DAVID DOUGLAS & THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST
ROSE, SARAH – FOR ALL THE TEA IN CHINA