The Garden of Asia

Reginald J. Farrer (1880-1920) was a traveller and plant collector who was an important influence on horticultural style in England. In 1902 he embarked on an expedition to Asia, where he was inspired by the rock gardens of Tokyo, Yokohama and Beijing, and discovered plant species such as Clematis macropetala, and the eponymous Geranium farreri and Viburnum farreri, which are now common in European gardens. In his first book, published in 1904, he records his experiences in Japan and other Asian countries, vividly recounting his impressions of, and his passion for, eastern landscape, terrain, plantations, forestry and flora, of which the aesthetic characteristics became central to the rockeries and shrubberies he created on his return home. Farrer died while on an expedition at the early age of forty, but the legacy of his highly influential writings and his wide-ranging plant introductions remains significant today.