Preface
There was a time when art and science were not treated as separate disciplines. The drawings by Audubon which this guide brings together capture magnificently how we can still enjoy today this union of art and science. At the same time, it also reminds us how stunning America’s native species are—as depicted by Audubon but also as we walk amongst them in the Donald E. Davis Arboretum. These flowering dogwoods, azaleas, and magnolias once enraptured gardeners so much that they sent plant hunters into the wild to bring them home into their carefully crafted landscapes. English gardeners became so obsessed that they spent fortunes on these trees and shrubs, while the American founding fathers used them to make a political statement. They imbued native species with patriotic sentiment and planted them proudly in their groves and shrubberies. They became a symbol for America. Cicero once said, “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” For me, Audubon brings those two together— looking at his lavish drawings always makes me want to go for a walk in the American woods.
Andrea Wulf Author of Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation and The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire, and the Birth of an Obsession
7
Audubon Field Guide working2.indd 7
9/11/13 4:37 PM