Author Description

A celebration of trees, with the beautiful botanical art of Masumi Yamanaka accompanied by entertaining and informative text from the artist and renowned experts. The paintings by botanical artist Masumi Yamanaka illustrate the oldest and finest trees growing at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, showing the flowers, foliage, and fruit at different stages throughout the year. These unique paintings are accompanied by the artist's commentary on the process of painting each tree and her personal experience with them. Yamanaka also provides an artist's preface, describing the progress of the paintings from sketch to finished work. The author's preface is presented in English and Japanese. Some of the trees in Masumi's portraits were planted in the early eighteenth century, and many of these trees are now rare in the wild. Christina Harrison provides an introductory chapter on the history of tree collecting and introduction, from the appearance of trees in the botanic gardens of sixteenth-century Renaissance Europe to the subsequent passion for plant exploration over the next few centuries, establishing trees as integral to garden design and landscaping. She also highlights the importance of trees today, from their practical applications to the sheer wonder of their beauty. Renowned author Martyn Rix provides detailed text to accompany each tree, describing the natural distribution and cultivation history, as well as other points of interest including uses and associated wildlife.