Southeastern Plant Pioneers Highlighted in History Center Exhibit
The next time you notice the flowering dogwood in your neighborhood, you might think of John and William Bartram. In the late 1700s, this father-and-son team journeyed across the wilds of the southeastern colonies, identifying, illustrating and writing about the native species they found here. William Bartram especially, went on to find great success with the publication of his book Bartram’s Travels.
The Atlanta History Center is highlighting work of the Bartrams through indoor and outdoor components in its current exhibit, “Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps.”
To learn more, host John Lemley joined Staci Catron, the Cherokee Garden Library Director at the Kenan Research Center. She began by talking a little about the published result of all this adventuring, Bartram’s Travels, and how the book was viewed by his 18th-century contemporaries.
Broadcast version of Part 1 of this story, which aired Wednesday, May 14, 2014
One southeastern plant species that William Bartram identified was the elusive Franklinia alatamaha, or Bartram’s Franklinia, a rare woody shrub that’s now extinct in the wild.
At the Atlanta History Center’s native plant garden, visitors can see a real Franklinia and learn the story behind its discovery—along with those of a number of native plants. John Lemley did just that with Sarah Roberts, the Director of Historic Gardens and Living Collections. She began by talking a little about how her own history brought her here.
Broadcast version of Part 2 of this story, which aired Wednesday, May 14, 2014
The exhibit, which also features botanical drawings by a variety of artists inspired by the work of William Bartram, runs through June 17.
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