Flora Domestica, or the Portable Flower-Garden; with directions for the treatment of plants in pots; and illustrations from the works of the poets

Taylor and Hessey, 1823. Hard Cover. Very Good. KENT, Elizabeth. Flora Domestica, or the Portable Flower-Garden; with directions for the treatment of plants in pots; and illustrations from the works of the poets. xxxiv, [2], 396pp., half-title. A very good copy bound in later 19th century dark green morocco, with gilt borders, gilt foliate corner pieces, and the spine gilt in compartments. Marbled end-papers, all-edges-gilt. Some slight foxing. 8vo. for Taylor and Hessey. 1823. ~ Elizabeth Kent (1790-1861) lived in London, but wanted to live in the country. Dismayed at the number of pot-plants given to her which failed to thrive, she published her useful guide to container or 'portable' gardening in 1823. She had taught herself botany and foreign languages, and her sister's marriage to the radical poet and journalist Leigh Hunt brought her into contact with the Romantic circles. The book combines practical instruction on how to select plants which will thrive in containers, and in the polluted air of cities, with quotations on gardening and flowers from ancient as well as modern authors such as Keats and her friend Shelley. Her common-sense advice on plants from adonis to zygophyllum and on their care - use rainwater if possible, but never over-water or let pots stand in water, for example - is equally valid today.