维多利亚时代的植物猎人缔造了英伦花园

2023-03-20施慧静

英语世界 2023年1期

译/施慧静

Many of our places were transformed by plant hunters.These men and women travelled the world bringing back the beautiful plants that continue to make our gardens special to this day.Here are some of the best examples.

植物猎人彻底改变了我们国家的许多地方。他们有男有女，曾踏遍全球带回各种美丽的植物。这些奇花佳木至今仍使我们的花园别具风情。下面列举了几座最具代表性的英伦花园。

Bodnant Garden, Colwyn Bay

2Bodnant Garden was forged by the Victorian vision of one extraordinary man.It was established in 1874 by scientist, businessman and politician Henry Pochin.He and his family filled the garden with plants collected by famous global explorers, including Ernest Wilson, George Forrest and Harold Comber.It is home to the earliest and grandest laburnum arch, Britain’s earliest magnolias and to some unique rhododendron hybrids.It also boasts Wales’ largest collection of UK Champion Trees1冠军树，指某一特定地区内，某一树种中拥有最高树高或最大胸径的树。.

科尔温湾的博德南特花园

2博德南特花园建构在维多利亚时代一位非凡之人的想象之上。1874 年，科学家、商人、政治家亨利·波钦建造了这座花园。波钦和家人一起在花园里种满了著名探险家从世界各地采集来的植物。这群探险家里就有欧内斯特·威尔荪、乔治·福里斯特和哈罗德·库默。博德南特花园拥有搭建最早、规模最大的金链花拱门花架，也是英国最早栽种木兰的地方，园内还能看到独特的杜鹃花杂交品种。此外，这里拥有全威尔士最多的英国冠军树。

Gibside, Tyne & Wear

3Mary Eleanor Bowes collected plant species from all over the world.The Orangery2橘园，指带玻璃墙和玻璃屋顶，为柑橘树等植物保温的建筑物。at Gibside was built around 1773 and, although now a ruin, once housed Mary Eleanor’s magnificent collection of exotic plants, which she amassed in the late 18th century.

Killerton, Devon

4In the early 19th century the nursery at Killerton expanded as owner James Veitch began employing plant hunters to bring back exotic plants from abroad.The sheltered conditions in the garden allowed the growth of camellias, magnolias, rhododendrons and trees from all continents except Antarctica.Some of the first giant redwoods to be planted in England were brought to Killerton from California in 1853 by William Lobb.

Mount Stewart, County Down

5 T h e g a r d e n a t M o u n t S t e w a r t r e-f l e c t s t h e a r t a n d v i s i o n o f E d i t h V a n e-T e m p e s t-S t e w a r t,M a r c h i o n e s s o f L o n-d o n d e r r y,w h o w a s a n i n f l u e n t i a l s o c i e t y h o s t e s s a n d g a r d e n e n t h u s i a s t.D u r i n g t h e 1 9 2 0 s s h e t o o k f u l l a d v a n t a g e o f t h e m i l d c l i m a t e o f S t r a n g f o r d L o u g h t o e x p e r i m e n t w i t h p l a n t s f r o m a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d t o c r e a t e a g a r d e n p r a i s e d b y U N E S C O f o r t h e‘e x t r a o r d i n a r y s c o p e o f i t s p l a n t c o l l e c t i o n s a n d t h e o r i g i n a l-i t y o f i t s f e a t u r e s,w h i c h g i v e i t w o r l d-c l a s s s t a t u s’.

泰恩-威尔郡的吉布塞德橘园

3玛丽·埃莉诺·鲍斯从世界各地采集植物物种。她的橘园位于吉布塞德庄园，建于1773 年前后。尽管如今已成废墟，但那里曾存放着玛丽·埃莉诺十分可观的藏品，都是她在18 世纪晚期搜集而来的异国花草。

德文郡的基勒顿庄园

419 世纪初，基勒顿庄园的主人詹姆斯·维奇开始雇用植物猎人为他从国外带回奇异植物，于是园中苗圃的规模也随之扩大。花园所处的适宜小环境让山茶花、木兰、杜鹃花和除南极洲以外各大洲的树木得以茁壮成长。1853 年，威廉·洛布从加利福尼亚为英格兰带回了第一批巨杉，其中一部分就栽种在基勒顿庄园。

唐郡的斯图尔特山庄园

5斯图尔特山庄园的花园展现了伦敦德里侯爵夫人伊迪丝·文-坦皮斯特-斯图尔特的艺术审美和独到眼光。她是当时社交界里颇有影响力的女主人，也是园艺爱好者。20 世纪20 年代，她充分利用斯特兰福德湾的温和气候，不断试种来自世界各地的植物，打造出了后来被联合国教科文组织盛赞为 “世界级的花园，植物种类多到令人惊叹，景观也极具独创性”。

Quarry Bank, Cheshire

6The restored glasshouse in Quarry Bank’s Upper Garden opened in March 2017 and includes an exhibition space that will help bring the history of Quarry Bank’s garden to life.Using archive records, it explores the stories of the Victorian plant hunters who brought back rare and exotic plants from around the world.Visitors will be able to see them on display, just as the Gregs and their guests would have done.

Sheringham Park, Norfolk

柴郡的阔里河岸纺纱厂花园

62017 年3 月，复原后的阔里河岸纺纱厂北花园玻璃温室对外开放，其中的展区生动呈现出了这座花园的历史变迁。展区的档案材料记载了维多利亚时代植物猎人的故事，他们从世界各地把稀有的异国植物带回英国。今天的游客也能像当年厂主格雷格一家和他们的客人那样，在展览中欣赏到那些珍奇的植物。

诺福克郡的谢灵厄姆公园

7植物猎人改变了此地的自然风光和野生花园。这里栽种的植物最早可以追溯到19 世纪50 年代前后。“许多植物都有故事可讲，大胆无畏、勇于冒险的植物猎人把它们从遥远的国度带回到我们的海岸。”园丁主管格雷厄姆·布伦南说道。比如，各种杜鹃花的种子是20 世纪伊始由植物采集者欧内斯特·“中国”威尔荪带回来的。他还把“手帕树”引入了这座公园。

7The landscape and wild garden here has been transformed by plant hunters.The earliest plantings date back to around 1850.‘Behind many of the plants are stories of intrepid and adventurous plant hunters who brought them back to our shores from distant lands,’says Head Gardener, Graham Brennan.For example, seeds of various types of rhododendron were obtained around the turn of the 20th century from the plant collector Ernest ‘Chinese’ Wilson.He also brought the Handkerchief Tree3珙桐（Davidia involucrata）的别称。珙桐是中国特有的单种属植物，国家一级保护植物，第三纪古热带植物区系中的残遗物种，世界著名的植物“活化石”，有“植物界大熊猫”之称。珙桐的头状花序下有两枚大小不等的白色苞片，呈长圆形或卵圆形。每当开花时，花朵远远望去就像一条条白色的手帕随风起舞，因此又称“手帕树”。here.

Trengwainton House, Cornwall

8When Lt.Col.Edward Bolitho inherited the house and garden at Trengwainton in 1925, he set about transforming the garden with exotic species.He sponsored a plant-hunting expedition to Assam and the Mishmi Hills in 1927-8.Many of the specimens brought back from that venture had never been grown in the UK before.The rhododendrons at Trengwainton today were grown from seeds brought back by that expedition.■