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Kate Teltscher

@kateteltscher.bsky.social
5.3K followers 1.1K following 76 posts

Cultural historian and writer. Author of Palace of Palms, a Times and New Statesman Book of the Year. kateteltscher.com

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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Kevin Martin, Kew’s head of tree collections, warns of tree loss this autumn: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
High winds during El Niño could be deadly for England’s stressed trees, say experts
Head of tree collections at Kew ‘very worried about this autumn’ as hot, dry summer has caused brittleness
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Great article on the task of emptying Kew’s Palm House in advance of renovation. When this last happened in the 1980s, the entire building was dismantled, piece by piece, like a giant Meccano kit. www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Sad moments ahead’: Kew Gardens to fell rare trees in race to save Victorian greenhouse
Horticulturalists begin moving and propagating plants before the rusty and warped Palm House begins renovation – but some are too tall to save
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Lovely article on the Biodiversity Heritage Library, one of the great online resources, now sadly at risk: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
A bonanza for fans of the natural world: the digital library sharing 64m pages of scientific knowledge with everyone
The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
“In his view, the medal is not a forgery. A forgery implies that there is a genuine medal. As the genuine philology medal does not exist, his medal cannot be a forgery".
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
'Every single bramley apple ever eaten can be traced back to the tree, which was planted from a pip by a young girl, Mary Ann Brailsford, in the early 19th century.' www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...
theguardian.com
‘It’s a special tree’: campaign to save mother of beloved bramley apple for nation
Appeal launched to buy Nottinghamshire cottage, where tree was planted in 19th century, and turn it into heritage centre
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Just stumbled on this extraordinary tragicomic image. Dancing on the grave of a giant redwood, 4 July 1853. 'Upon this stump ... thirty-two persons were engaged in dancing four sets of cotillions at one time', J. M. Hutchings, Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California, 1862.
19th-century print of a 4 July celebration: a formal dance in the middle of a Californian redwood forest on the stump of a recently felled giant redwood.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Only a few more days to catch the Garden Museum's wonderful Seeds of Exchange exhibition about botanical art and the plant trade in 18th-century Canton (Guangzhou) and London (closes 10 May). Check out this delightful 1790s painting of a florist on his smoking break.
A Chinese flower seller smoking a pipe while he rests his plant wares on the ground.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Steve McQueen’s new project on the plants of Grenada: ‘I wanted to see what the Arawaks, the Caribs, the Europeans, the Africans, the migrant Chinese and Indian workers would have seen within the one constant thing which would have brought attention to their gaze, a thing of beauty’
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Cambridge University Botanic Garden @cubotanicgarden.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Preserved for 200 years, these watercolour illustrations used by Darwin’s mentor, John Henslow, have been featured for the first time in today’s Guardian. And they will soon be used again as teaching materials in the Garden’s new Certificate in Botany course. Find out more: shorturl.at/SxCej
An artistic botanical illustration of a flower with pink petals and green stem. The flower's center is highlighted with two prominent anthers. The paper appears aged, and a colour chart is visible in the top left corner.Botanical illustration showing detailed drawings of various parts of the plant Solanum nigrum, also known as black nightshade. Includes a flower with yellow stamens, a cross-section of the ovary, and an eggplant-like fruit. Handwritten notes are visible on the paper.
Illustrated botanical drawing featuring a green plant on the left, a slender capsule in the center, and a red berry on the right. The text below reads "Vaccinium vitis idaea.A botanical illustration features two parts of a plant. On the left, a detailed flower with multiple stamens is shown, indicating its internal structure. On the right, a close-up of a green, segmented seed pod is displayed. Below, the text reads "Sanicula Europaea. Sison Amomum.
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Suzanne Karr Schmidt @drkarrschmidt.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Puzzle Binding! Tricky! These are almost as rare as hen's teeth, and we just... Had One??? And, it includes HOW Many Books? (Five from Germany c. 1601 and a blank one at last count...) #Vexierbuch #DosADos @newberrylibrary.bsky.social (Case C 823 .966)
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Heather Craddock @hcraddock.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
The research guide on Environmental History that I wrote for The National Archives, UK is now live! Includes research advice and resources on colonial environments, pollution, agriculture, and animal histories. Available here: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-yo... #envhist #envhum
Photograph of an American bison standing beside a fence at the London Zoo in 1906.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Researching eighteenth-century garden labour. Apparently all the work is done by charming putti!
Decorative cartouche from John Roque's New Plan of Richmond Garden (1748). Naked putti are at work in the garden: rolling the lawn, leaning on a spade and inspecting a garden plan.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Enjoying account of a 1784 Royal Society meeting by French geologist, Faujas de Saint-Fond. Members were 'pretty much enlivened' after a dinner with vast quantities of drink. Joseph Banks presided in a 'colossal' ugly chair at a table covered by a huge red velvet cushion ('one cannot tell why').
Engraving of Sir Joseph Banks as president of the Royal Society, by N Schiavonetti, 1812.  Banks is seated in chair with a massive crest, considered to be in the worst possible taste by Saint-Fond.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Great to see recent posts on 'Tree Cultures' issue of Plant Perspectives. Delighted that importance of Heather Craddock's essay is noted (and nice summary of my own!) @hcraddock.bsky.social @treeseeker.bsky.social @planthums-uk.bsky.social @whitehorsepress.bsky.social herbariumworld.wordpress.com
herbariumworld.wordpress.com
Herbarium World
Exploring herbaria and their importance
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
The London Mayor's Office recently announced a scheme to reintroduce storks to London. From 1890 storks formed one of the attractions of Kew Gardens:'their quaint appearance and philosophical habits make them rather in keeping with a botanical garden' (Journal of the Kew Guild, 1902).
1918 poster by Fred Taylor of storks at Kew Gardens, produced by the Underground Railways, for distribution to troops overseas.
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Linda Andersson Burnett @lindaaburnett.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
New seminars on Instructing Colonial Natural History 🌿 We can look forward to papers by Yunting Gu, Adriana Craciun and @nulybranch.bsky.social. For more info see instructingnaturalhistory.com (more info will be added). #skystorians #museums #collecting #histsci #envhist
Poster showing the seminar schedule. The image is of Louis XVI giving instructions
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Come listen to this talk by Dr Heather Craddock, my brilliant former PhD student. It's next Tues Jan 27, 10-11.30 GMT.
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planthums-uk.bsky.social @planthums-uk.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
#KEW in #JAMAICA by @hcraddock.bsky.social - 2nd talk in #Gardens-Trust #online seminar series #Empires, #Plants & #Gardening' Jan 27 10-11:30 GMT More info & booking: eventbrite.co.uk/e/empires-pl... @kewgardens.bsky.social @UkNatArchives
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
A real pleasure to talk to Ian Brown from Toronto about the vital renovation of Kew's Palm House in The Globe and Mail @rbgkew.bsky.social
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Charming open-the-flap cover of 1950 guide to Kew. The wintery scene in the Palm House transforms to summer and a view of the Pagoda when the door opens. Truly, a garden for all seasons!
Colourful cover of 1950 guide book The Romance of Kew: Where Flowers always bloom. Interior of Palm House with red hibiscus and snowy scene outside.Open-the-flap of cover of guide, The Romance of Kew, reveals summer scene of the pagoda.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
This looks great! The wonderful Vinita Damodaran speaking on Tuesday, Feb 10 at 5:30 pm (GMT). www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonisi...
eventbrite.co.uk
Decolonising the Natural History Collections of Empire (in person)
Join us for the third annual Royal Historical Society / German Historical Institute Lecture in Global History given by Vinita Damodaran.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
An excellent resource:
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
If anyone needs cheering up, here are three jolly dancing gardeners. Edward Bawden's illustration from Robert Herring's wonderful Adam and Evelyn at Kew (1930).
Three rake-wielding dancing gardeners.  A hand coloured stencil illustration by Edward Bawden from Robert Herring's Adam and Evelyn at Kew (1930)
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Great thread from Sadiah Qureshi with some excellent suggestions for historical starter packs.
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Edwin Rose @edwinrose.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Delighted to see this recent article in the @smithsonianmag.bsky.social by @donnalferguson.bsky.social on some of the research outputs for the Naming Species in the South Pacific project: www.smithsonianmag.com/history/newl... With thanks to our collaborators, @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
smithsonianmag.com
Newly Digitized Records Reveal How Indigenous People Shared Their Knowledge of New Zealand's Plants With Captain Cook's Crew
Long-overlooked documents housed at London's Natural History Museum testify to the exchange of information between 18th-century European botanists and their Indigenous counterparts
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Thank you for this lovely obituary, Andrew. John supervised my DPhil. However witty and acerbic as a reviewer, he was gentleness itself with his students. He had the gift of appearing interested in whatever you had to say. I’m very grateful for his support and cherish the memory of his wry smile.
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Yale University Press London 📖 @yalebooks.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
We are incredibly sad to learn of the death of John Carey, whose last three books we were proud to publish at Yale. One of our greatest literary critics, John was a strong advocate for poetry and making it accessible. He was diligent and superb at what he did, but always with a sense of fun.
John Carey
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Julian Loose @loosestish.bsky.social · 14/12/2025
Thanks for this lovely tribute to the great John Carey, he meant so much to so many of us.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
What a fantastic article and brilliant idea! George Monbiot on ‘soilsmology’ and the birth of the Earth Rover Program: //www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/dec/05/agriculture-revolution-soil-farming-earth-rover-program?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
theguardian.com
Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot
I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
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Edmond Smith @edmond-smith.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
Thrilled to see Ruthless reviewed in the FT by Linda Colley, and to be placed among the FT's books of the week too! 😊 www.ft.com/content/67c1...
ft.com
Ruthless by Edmond Smith — the brutal rise of Britain’s industrial power
The historian’s splendid account sets out the ideas, inventions and relentless exploitation that drove the nation’s growth from 1660-1800
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
The Chinese fan palm and cobra lily by Vishnuprasad from Henry Noltie’s Flora Indica, a masterpiece of botanical-art-historical detective work. The book accompanies a stunning exhibition at Kew Gardens. @rbgkew.bsky.social @willdalrymple.bsky.social @sathnam.bsky.social @eicathomefinn.bsky.social
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
The village women turned astro-ambassadors. A good news story from Ladakh: www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
‘The universe has opened up for us’: meet the astro-ambassadors who welcome stargazers to the Himalayas
A tourism initiative in India’s first dark sky reserve has brought new hope to a community as employment means they can stay close to their roots and culture
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Great piece on using historic archives to chart biodiversity loss - and a nice piece of (literal) field work! www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Century-old papers saved from the bin reveal changes in Europe’s plant life
Plant inventories dating back to 1884 and nearly thrown away enable unique time-lapse study of biodiversity in Swiss meadows
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Christina Hourigan @treeseeker.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Huge thanks to the team at @plantperspectives.bsky.social @whitehorsepress.bsky.social and @sarahwhpress.bsky.social for creating such stunning designs for our special #arborealhumanities issue! Check out all the beautifully crafted papers, poetry and reviews at whp-journals.co.uk/PP/issue/vie...
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planthums-uk.bsky.social @planthums-uk.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
It's here!!! 200 pages of #research articles, #narrative #nonfiction, #poetry & #reviews - all on #trees! Many thanks to @whitehorsepress.bsky.social, @treeseeker.bsky.social & all our contributors url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/9ZIoCojPZH...
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
‘One of the most superbly beautiful of trees ... worth crossing the globe to see’. For more on thawka-gyi or 'Pride of Burma', see the latest issue of Plant Perspectives. Open access: www.whp-journals.co.uk/PP/article/v...
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
What is the most beautiful flowering tree in the world? Find out in my essay for Plant Perspectives, ed. by the wonderful Caroline Cornish and Christina Hourigan. Also features a brilliant essay on ackee by Heather Craddock, @planthums-uk.bsky.social @treeseeker.bsky.social @hcraddock.bsky.social
Front and back cover of Plant Perspectives vol 2.2 with image of installation 'Of the Oak' by Marshmallow Laser Feast in Kew Gardens 2025 on the cover.Amherstia nobilis, hand-coloured lithograph by Maxim Gauci, based on drawing by Vishnuprasad from Nathaniel Wallich, Plantae Asiaticae Rariores 1 (1830).
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
For a welcome change, here’s a good news environmental story: www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Joy and relief as lotus flowers bloom again in Kashmiri lake after three decades
Wular Lake once supported 5,000 people who harvested the plant’s edible roots, until the lake silted up after floods. Now the lotuses are back
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
This is sad news indeed. Peter was extremely generous and encouraging to me when I was starting out on my career. He was very open to interdisciplinary research when that was quite unusual.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
You're right, Sathnam! The glass was originally pale green – a shade determined by the chemist Robert Hunt through a bizarre series of experiments involving the extracted juices of palm leaves!
Chemist Robert Hunt by William Buckler (1842) Pictured with camera and prism.Diagram from Robert Hunt's record of experiments with green glass for the Palm House.
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Dr Andrew McInnes @drbeard79.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Still thinking about when me & @victorianmasc.bsky.social came up with Romantic poetry inspired sweets yesterday:
Me: Oooh I want a Grecian urn jelly
Maybe this could be MY side hustle
Daffodil ice lollies
Mont Blanc choc ice
Tyger Tyger chocolate bar involving chili maybe
Lonely Cloud Marshmallow
Prometheus gingerbread man
Laura: and marzipan eagle
I LOVE IT
Wordsworth and Co. Fine
Confectionery Co.
Me: Aww yeah
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
So I guess today's the day to remind anyone interested in the history of Kew's Palm House to take a look at my book, Palace of Palms! bsky.app/profile/rbgk... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Kew Garden: Palm House set for major renovation
The 175-year-old glass house will begin a £50m renovation in 2027.
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History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 24/06/2025
How was smell weaponised in settler colonial processes of scoping and transforming landscapes inhabited by indigenous people? Meg Parsons and Karen Fisher on the use of the eucalyptus tree by Pākehā settlers on Māori swamp-land: www.historyworkshop....
historyworkshop.org.uk
The Swamp and the Gum Tree
Meg Parsons and Karen Fisher on how Pākehā settlers weaponised smell in the colonisation of Māori swamp-land.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Really enjoyed working on this great project! The Kew Record Book is now freely available online. It's a unique document in the history of botany and horticulture, recording incoming and out going plants at Kew Gardens 1793-1809. blog.biodiversitylibrary.org/2023/05/trav...
blog.biodiversitylibrary.org
Travelling Plants: A Collaborative Project
During 2020, the Archives team at Kew Gardens developed a collaboration with the University of Roehampton, the University of the Third Age (U3A), and the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL), to cre…
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Fantastic news! Many congratulations to Caroline Cornish on receiving the SHNH President’s Award for promoting and improving accessibility, inclusivity and diversity to the study of the history of natural history: shnh.org.uk/news/announc... @planthums-uk.bsky.social
shnh.org.uk
Announcement – Society for the History of Natural History 2025 awards - Society for the History of Natural History
SHNH President’s Award SHNH is delighted to award the SHNH President’s Award 2024 to Caroline Cornish. The Award recognises an individual or team’s contribution and impact in promoting and improving a...
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Well, this is interesting. The UK-Kenya exhibition at the 2025 Venice Biennale reimagines the Palm House at Kew Gardens as a timber structure. The decorative panels are made of sustainable materials. 'Vena Cava' by Mae-ling Lokko and Gustavo Crembil venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/geology-brit...
© GBR – Geology Of Britannic Repair, Vena Cava. Image by Chris Lane.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Just writing a paper about this pair, Thomas Dawodu and Ferdinand Leigh, the first Africans to train at Kew Gardens. Come hear their remarkable story at Gardens & Empires conference, British Library, June 27-8, & online: events.bl.uk/events/garde... @sathnam.bsky.social @eicathomefinn.bsky.social ‬
Formal photographic studio portrait of Thomas Dawodu, 1893Formal photographic studio portrait of Ferdinand Leigh, 1893
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British Library @britishlibrary.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Unearthed: The Power of Gardening is now open! 🌱 Discover botanical treasures, medieval manuscripts, contemporary artworks and the stories of the remarkable people and plants that shape our gardens today. Book now: bit.ly/BLUnearthed Members go free
A visitor looks at a display case containing a large scroll featuring various botanical drawings of leaves. Two framed prints of flowers are displayed on the wall behind them. 
Two visitors look at a display of open books, featuring large bright botanical drawings of plants and flowers.
A visitor looks at an open book showing a large botanical drawing of a sunflower.
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Kate Teltscher @kateteltscher.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Very excited about two Kew Gardens exhibitions on empire & botanical art this October: – Flora Indica: recovering lost histories of Indian botanical art, curated by Henry Noltie & Sita Reddy. – New work by The Singh Twins: Botanical Tales & Seeds of Empire. www.kew.org/about-us/pre...
Intricat panel from painting by The Singh Twins with imperial emblems, butterflies and botanical images.
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