Ever since the botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker ventured to the Himalayas on his 1847 plant-hunting expedition, this species-rich, biodiverse region has held a fascination for British plant lovers. It’s no wonder – on that trip alone, Hooker brought back a plethora of exciting plants, including rhododendrons, conifers and orchids and paved the way for future expeditions that brought us drumstick primulas and blue meconopsis poppies.
The ‘big names’ in Victorian plant hunting followed – George Forrest, Frank Kingdon-Ward, Reginald Farrer, Joseph Rock – bringing home more rhododendrons, plus primulas, poppies, gentians, anemones, corydalis, lilies and bamboos. To accommodate all these thrilling new plants, Himalayan gardens sprung up in botanic and private gardens across the UK, from the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh to Bodnant in North Wales. Today, botanists and…