Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)

 

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert. It is a charity and exists to promote gardening and horticulture in Britain and Europe. This is done through a series of flower shows and through many model gardens that are open to the public. The society celebrated its bicentenary in 2004.

RHS Gardens

The RHS has four flagship gardens in England: Wisley Garden, near the village of Wisley in Surrey; Rosemoor in Devon; Hyde Hall in Essex and Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire.

The society's first garden was in Kensington, from 1818 – 1822. In 1821 the society leased part of the Duke of Devonshire's estate at Chiswick to set up an experimental garden; in 1823 it employed Joseph Paxton there. From 1827 the society held fetes at the Chiswick garden, and from 1833, shows with competitive classes for flowers and vegetables. In 1861 the RHS (as it had now become) developed a new garden at Kensington (the Science Museum, Imperial College and the Royal College of Music now occupy the site), but it was vacated in 1888. The Chiswick garden was maintained until 1903 – 1904, by which time Sir Thomas Hanbury had bought the garden at Wisley and presented it to the RHS.

RHS Garden Wisley is thus the society's oldest garden. Rosemoor came next, presented by Lady Anne Berry in 1988. Hyde Hall was given to the RHS in 1993 by its owners Dick and Helen Robinson. The most recent addition is Harlow Carr, acquired by the merger of the Northern Horticultural Society with the RHS in 2001. It had been the Northern Horticultural Society's trial ground and display garden since they bought it in 1949.

RHS Flower Shows

The most famous RHS flower show is the annual Chelsea Flower Show, but it also organizes several others: the London Flower Shows (currently eight a year), held at the Royal Horticultural Halls, close to the RHS headquarters in Vincent Square, Westminster, the annual Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (which the RHS took over in 1993) and Tatton Park Flower Show in Cheshire (since 1999). It has held a Spring Flower Show in Cardiff since 2005. The society is also closely involved with the spring and autumn shows at Malvern, Worcestershire, and with BBC Gardeners' World Live held annually at the Birmingham NEC.

Britain in Bloom

The RHS took over the administration of the Britain in Bloom competition in 2002.

Medals and awards

The society honours certain persons with the Victoria Medal of Honour who are deemed by its Council to be deserving of special recognition in the field of horticulture. Other medals issued by the society include the Banksian, Knightian and Lindley medals, named after notable early officers of the society. It awards Gold, Silver-gilt, Silver and Bronze medals to exhibitors at its Flower Shows.

RHS libraries

The RHS is custodian of the Lindley Library, housed within its headquarters at 80 Vincent Square, London, and in branches at each of its four gardens. The library is based upon the book collection of John Lindley.

Publications

Journals

The society has published a journal since 1866. Since 1975 it has been entitled The Garden. The RHS also publishes The Plantsman four times a year, The Orchid Review six times a year, and Hanburyana, an annual publication dedicated to horticultural taxonomy.

Plant registers

Since the establishment of International Registration Authorities for plants in 1955 the RHS has acted as Registrar for certain groups of cultivated plants. It is now Registrar for nine categories – conifers, clematis, daffodils, dahlias, delphiniums, dianthus, lilies, orchids and rhododendrons. It publishes The International Orchid Register, the central listing of orchid hybrids.

History of the RHS

Founders

The creation of a British horticultural society was suggested by John Wedgwood (son of Josiah Wedgwood) in 1800. His aims were fairly modest: he wanted to hold regular meetings, allowing the society's members the opportunity to present papers on their horticultural activities and discoveries, to encourage discussion of them, and to publish the results. The society would also award prizes for gardening achievements.

He discussed the idea with his friends, but it was four years before the first meeting, of seven men, took place, on 7 March 1804 at Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly, London. Wedgwood was chairman; also present were William Townsend Aiton (successor to his father, William Aiton, as Superintendent of Kew Gardens), Sir Joseph Banks (President of the Royal Society), James Dickson (a nurseryman), William Forsyth (Superintendent of the gardens of St. James's Palace and Kensington Palace), Charles Francis Greville (a Lord of the Admiralty) and Richard Anthony Salisbury, who was to become the Secretary of the new society.

Banks proposed his close friend Thomas Andrew Knight for membership. The proposal was accepted, despite Knight's ongoing feud with William Forsyth over a plaster for healing tree wounds which Forsyth was developing. Knight soon became President of the society, and developed the society's aims and objectives to include a programme of practical research into fruit-breeding.

See also

• Arlow Stout- pioneer in the hybridization of daylilies
• Stephen Woodhams
• Sir Richard Carew Pole - President of the RHS

References

• In the beginning, by Brent Elliott, from The Garden, February 2004 The founders of the RHS
• A brief history of the Society, by Brent Elliott, from The Garden, February 2004 RHS timeline

External links

• Royal Horticultural Society The main RHS website

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