Janet Marinelli
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| Janet is a respected author, journalist, and pioneer in the field of ecological landscaping. |
Her previous books include Stalking the Wild Amaranth of which Roger Swain, science editor of Horticulture Magazine, said, "not since Voltaire has anyone so eloquently proclaimed the wisdom and the necessity of cultivating our own gardens."
Plant, Janet's latest book; is an unadulterated celebration of the world’s flora. Offering more than just a gardening guide, it takes an important look at the role of plants in the biological diversity of our planet, ecological problems and conservation on a global scale.
Q - Janet, you're the Editor-in-Chief of Plant - the ultimate visual reference to plants and flowers of the world. Given the scope of the book, it must have been a mammoth project to take on. Are you pleased with the result and can you reveal how much work was behind it?A - A book this big involves an insane amount of work - years of work not only by me, but also by some of the greatest living botanists and horticulturists around the world who agreed to write about their heroic efforts to save plants. And also years of work to amass such magnificent photos, design the pages, and make the text sparkle. This is the kind of project you would never undertake if you actually sat down beforehand to tally up the amount of work involved! But it was more than worth the effort -- it is, I think, the most spectacular book on plants ever published. And it's gratifying to know that its sales will help support urgent plant conservation work by botanic gardens around the world.
Q -What inspired you to write Plant?A - By now, just about everybody knows that we're poised on the brink of an age of extinction that could rival anything in evolutionary history, including the mass demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. What most people don't know is that not just poison dart frogs or giant pandas are in big trouble: A devastating number of the world's plants are also at risk of extinction - and gardeners and other plant lovers can play a very personal and important role in helping to save them. In fact, a few dozen plants are now extinct in the wild and survive only in cultivation - they are alive only through the efforts of generations of gardeners who have grown them. For too long, the story of the plight of plants around the globe and the role gardeners have played in their survival has remained untold. Five years ago, I began working on Plant to tell this story.
Q - It is estimated that before the end of the 21st century, two-thirds of the world's plant species will have disappeared! Plant features an extensive encyclopedia of these threatened plants - do you have any advice on how gardeners can help ensure their survival?
A - Plant is full of advice on which species need the help of gardeners, and how to grow them. And a number of plants - some of the most beautiful orchids, cacti, bulbs, and cycads, to name a few -- are threatened because they are illegally dug up from their wild habitats for sale in the horticultural trade. By being educated consumers and asking appropriate questions when purchasing these plants, gardeners can play a huge role in their survival. These are just two of the ways that gardeners can help plant species survive the 21st century.
Q - Do you feel that the average gardener can play an important role in planting for the planet?
A - As wilderness shrinks and garden acreage increases, our role in the current extinction crisis is growing greater every day. When we garden, we are essentially rearranging the planet's flora. So it seems obvious to me that we not only have a responsibility to be aware of the consequences of our actions as gardeners, but also an enormous opportunity to foster biodiversity on our own properties. We can create gardens that help connect shrunken and fragmented nature preserves, support butterflies, bees, and other pollinators, and help augment the genetic diversity of the shrinking populations of many plants.
Q - Plant offers a new kind of horticultural reference by detailing each plant's provenance. What do you think this level of understanding will bring to gardeners?
Plant species will not survive unless we preserve as much of their genetic diversity as possible. This genetic variation is what enables plants and all living things to cope with changes in their environment - whether climate change or pests and diseases. Many native UK species, for example, are genetically important because they are at the northern limit of their natural range. A general rule of thumb for gardeners is that, when purchasing native species, they should look for plants propagated from stock growing within a hundred miles of their homes. This also makes horticultural sense, because plants of local provenance are more likely to be adapted to the conditions in your garden and therefore more apt to thrive.
Q - Plant offers the reader more than just a gardening guide - it takes an important look at the role of plants in the biological diversity of our planet, ecological problems and conservation on a global scale. It's a perfect gift book - who do you think will enjoy reading it?
A - Everyone who loves plants, loves beautiful books, or wants to enrich their lives by learning about the natural world that exists not just in tropical rainforests but also in our own backyards.
Q - Do you have a favourite plant or would you find it impossible to choose one?
A - My favourite is the seabeach amaranth, a plucky little plant which once was common along the seashores of the eastern US but is now in danger of extinction; no other land plant ventures closer to the ocean. Seabeach amaranth is not the kind of plant that will win any beauty contests: It's a homely little mound of a thing about a foot across, with fleshy reddish stems and small, spinach-green leaves clustered at the tips of the braches. For 40 years the plant had not been seen in my home state, New York; but my colleague, Brooklyn Botanic Garden botanist Steve Clemants, and I found it growing there one late September day in 1991. However, the thrill of our discovery was somewhat dampened by the fact that the plant had just been squashed by an SUV! This rare but persevering plant became the inspiration for my book Stalking the Wild Amaranth, the story of my search for a new kind of gardening that nurtures a greater richness and variety of the world's plant and animal life.
Q - The book is published in association with the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. What were you experiences of working with them?
A - Kew is one of the world's greatest botanic gardens, and its work to save plants is immensely important. Indeed, a number of Plant's contributors are intrepid botanists at Kew. I hope the sales of Plant generate piles of money to help support their work, as well as the work of the other botanic gardens around the globe that have endorsed the book.
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