At
one time in history way back before the
1600s, what few plants were used in the
landscape came from the local woods or
plains. Once people started moving around
the globe in ships, so-called
plant explorers
started hitching a ride to the far reaches
of the plant world.
Most
of these explorers such as
Philip von Siebold came from
Europe or
England. Of course, we also sometimes hear
the term "plant discoverers" but this is
misleading. Naturally, the local people in
all of the countries were well aware of the
plants that grew in their surroundings. They
may not have given them Latin names but they
usually knew which plants had traits that
made them useful in the landscape.
Here are some
maps to illustrate most of the major areas
of the world where many ornamental landscape
plants that are now used in the
gardens of the
United States,
U.K. and
Europe have originated.
