John Bartram, the King's Gardener

The Tulsa Herb Society hosts a historical presentation of America’s first botanist and horticulturist on July 14 at the Tulsa Garden Center.

Tulsa Herb Society members (L to R) Annie Piper, Dianne Rodehaver, and Sue Stees are excited to host Kirk R. Brown at the Tulsa Garden Center this month.

The Tulsa Herb Society is proud to introduce Kirk R. Brown, who delivers a first person, biographical and historical presentation on the life of America’s first botanist and horticulturist, John Bartram. His humor, his passion and his achievements will entertain, inspire and awe as he shares his hope for the future of the earth and the men who inhabit it. His session is designed to be a costumed, stand-alone opening keynote on the subject of sustainability and green earth awareness. John Bartram, the King’s Gardener is July 14 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Tulsa Garden Center, 2435 S. Peoria Ave. Admission is free and reservations aren’t required.
John Bartram will welcome you with the horticultural history of America as he began it in Philadelphia and Penn’s Woods. His story starts in 1699 and moves up to the American Revolutionary War and 1776. He stands at the very beginning of the international world of plant discovery and identification. He introduced more than 200 species and 100 trees to the trade. His plant shipments reforested the whole of Southern England and gave color to the island’s autumns with Native American trees like Maples, Oaks, Magnolias, Poplars, Hawthorns, Ash, Beech and Willows.
  

 At 310 years old, John Bartram has managed to stay current and well-traveled. His age has been no handicap for his continuing search for new species and newer, better, plant introductions. He is truly the longest serving plant hunter, having introduced more than 200 species to the trade.

This Renaissance man has been involved with much of the development of world-wide botanical research; he is credited with starting the first public garden in America. His friends included the likes of Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, statesmen Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush, and horticulturists Carl Linnaeus and Peter Collinson.

George III appointed Bartram Royal Botanist to the Americas, and he was elected as a member to the prestigious Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Along with Franklin, he is a founder of the American Philosophical Society. Passionately religious, Bartram made dozens of plant forays into the wilderness of the original colonies always completed his vision of a God-centered life. He saw divinity in the spirit of his trees. Along with his son, William, his explorations of Georgia discovered at least one species known only through his collection: Franklinia altamaha.
  

 The Tulsa Herb Society is honored to host Kirk R. Brown in his capacity as John Bartram, the founder of America’s oldest botanic garden. He told us that the concept of a botanic garden open to the public was only a form of self-defense. He had the plants. He was on a public road out from the city of Philadelphia. He had people knocking on his front door. All he had to do was print a sign that stated the hours of operation and let them in. That’s when he got into the nursery business and started selling plants from the back of his wagon on a retail basis.

For more information, contact

Tulsa Herb Society

(918) 289-6217