In the 1660s a traveller named Sir John Chardin toured the legendary paradise gardens of Persia and was captivated. One of the flowers he saw there seemed to be a form of the native English buttercup Ranunculus acris) but in a dazzling array of different colours that completely charmed him. Reasoning that a near relative would enjoy moving to an environment where its cousin flourished in every field, he arranged to have some of the plants packed up and shipped back to England.

Ranunculus are part of a group of plants that do indeed include the buttercup, and they were an immediate success. Their arrival in England coincided with the start of the flower societies that were soon to sweep the country in the quest for variety; competitive perfection and general good gardening entertainment. The new ranunculus was seized upon with enthusiasm and, by the start of the eighteenth century was already being widely bred and hybridized just forty-odd years after its discovery.

By the end of the century there were more than eight hundred varieties of ranunculus. It had almost become the tulip of its day, so huge was its popularity and so great the quest for new, ever more exciting varieties. Read the rest of this entry »