Over the past four centuries botanists and gardeners in the British Isles have gathered, maintained and propagated many varying species of plants. Their work has been documented in innumerable books and articles which are often difficult to trace. The Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturalists represents a time-saving reference source for those who wish to discover more about the lives and achievements of the horticulturalists listed. The dictionary's utility comes not only from indicating the major publications of the named authors, but also the location of their herbaria and manuscripts.; The previous 1977 edition of the Dictionary has for many years been a much used source of information for botanists, botanic artists and archivists. In this revised edition the scope has been expanded to include among its 13,000 entries flower painters in addition to botanical artists over 1400 entries and, for the first time, garden designers.; Finally the Dictionary should have international appeal since so many botanists and gardeners worked on collective plants overseas, in particular in North America and the British Commonwealth.; Each entry gives, wherever possible, details of dates and places of birth and death, educational qualifications, professional posts, honours and awards, publications, location of plant collections, manuscripts, drawings and portraits. Its main function, however, is to provide further biographical references to books and periodicals. Comprehensive classified indices facilitate access by professions and activities, countries, and plant interests.

Amongst the greatest books every created are the large-scale works of natural history researched and written by apothecaries, scientists and others for whom the study of the natural world was a consuming passion. Behind each book there is a story to tell - how and why the volume was created, the vicissitudes suffered by those engaged in its production, the slow journey to the market, and above all the beauty of the plates, which today are so often reproduced out of their original context and often very much smaller. Such books are now amongst the rarest and most sought-after by today's collectors. For example "Hortus Eystettensis", Thornton's "Temple of Flora", Audubon's "Birds of America" and the Daniells' "Oriental Scenery". The stories behind many such books are told by Ray Desmond, with many reproduced colour plates from original copies in The British Library and other major archives.