Overview
"At the age of eighteen, Henry Shaw (1800-1889) left his home in Sheffield, England, to import manufactured goods from St. Louis on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Two decades of financial success allowed him to relinquish his business operations and take up more genteel pursuits." "Over the next three decades, Shaw transformed his estate, Tower Grove, into one of the nation's leading botanical gardens, Laid out according to gardenesque principles, which emphasized individual specimens, the plantings came from many sources and included species newly discovered by the era's great plant hunters. Shaw's Garden (now the Missouri Botanical Garden) opened in 1859 to legions of wildly enthusiastic visitors." Carol Grove chronicles Shaw's remarkable story, from his early love of plants to his rising social conscience and his determined quest to create a place of unsurpassed beauty and distinction that would educate and thereby improve American citizens. Beautifully illustrated with contemporary and historical photographs, this volume offers an insightful cultural history of Shaw's landscapes, among the most important examples of the gardenesque in America.Synopsis
Grove (landscape studies, U. of Missouri-Columbia) recounts the transformation of Henry Shaw's (1800-1889) estate, Tower Grove, in St. Louis into what is now the Missouri Botanical Garden. He opened the garden in 1859, then added 276 acres for the Tower Grove Park, which were designed using the gardenesque approach that allows room for viewing and emphasizes the characteristics of individual species. Grove describes Shaw's life from his birth in England to his immigration to America and ensuing business and financial accomplishments, and explains how he developed the garden and park, influences on him, experts who consulted with him, and how it reflected American society at the time. Interspersed throughout the text are b&w photos of the grounds, plans, and visitors at the garden. Annotation © 2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
The American Gardener
(T)he book takes a fascinating historical look at the establishment of these two landscapes and their development over the ensuing years.
Editorials
Erik Empson
"Well presented, pleasantly written and superbly edited volume."—Antiques Magazine, March 2006