The houseplant that changed the British Empire
6/7/202626 min
On the face of it, it’s just a box. It has wooden slats, a peaked roof and glass panels. But inside this box is something that will breathe, grow, and impact lives around the world, for better or worse.
Dr Luke Keogh (author, The Wardian Case: How a Simple Box Moved Plants and Changed the World) tells Marc Fennell (Stuff The British Stole) the story of how a box designed to grow plants became a tool for imperial horticulture and rewrote the future of the British Empire.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
[electronic music] ABC Listen. Podcasts, radio, news, music, and more.
Anthony Burke0:05
[whimsical music] When was the last time you really looked at your kettle, [whistle blowing] your umbrella, [water running] the hallway mirror, or even a gravestone? Every one of them was designed by someone for a reason, and those choices are still shaping how you live. The ordinary isn't ordinary at all. That's By Design with me, Anthony Burke. Find it on the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Marc Fennell· Host0:32
[bird chirping] We are in London at the height of the Industrial Revolution. [machine humming] It is dirty and polluted because, well, it's London at the height of the Industrial Revolution. Now, that is a particularly challenging time if you, my friend, are into gardening.
Luke Keogh· Guest0:49
It's a little bit difficult in all that smog to get a few things growing.
Marc Fennell· Host0:52
And yet people here in London, they are determined, nay, obsessed with plants, trees, botany of all kind from the furthest reaches of Earth.
Luke Keogh· Guest1:02
There was a thirst for plants, exotic plants, at the time. And if you wanted plants from different locations, you had to move them.
Marc Fennell· Host1:10
And that is a problem because transporting these valuable plants from all around the world to London, yeah, it's hard.
Luke Keogh· Guest1:17
Only one in 1,000 plants arrived back in London alive.
Marc Fennell· Host1:24
Just imagine you spent all this money getting this plant here. You crack open the crate, and inside is nothing but