A Passion for Trees: The Legacy of John Evelyn

There can be no better place to begin a celebration of trees than with John Evelyn. This 17th-century luminary was not only a gardener, royal advisor, and precursor of the modern environmental movement, but he was also the author of exceptional works of horticulture. The greatest of these is Sylva: A Discourse of Forest Trees, published in 1664; it is among the first books in English to show an appreciation of the aesthetic value of trees and the benefits of planting them to shape the landscape. Maggie Campbell-Culver's book might be described as a stroll through the woods in the company of the great man, as between them they give us illuminating portraits of 30 well-loved trees.