Robert Buist's Gardening Book Has the Longest Title I Have Ever Seen

Go to the bottom of the page for a very large image of Buist's nursery in 1840 and enjoy touring it!  I like the system for controlling the heat in the cold frames.

Advertisement depicting a bird's eye view looking northwest at Robert Buist's enclosed nursery and greenhouses on Twelfth Street, south of Lombard Street. Two long rows of hotbed frames extend west from Twelfth Street and run the length of Rodman Street behind a three-story building marked "140" (a preconsolidation address). Men and women stroll along the central walk that separates the two rows of hotbed frames inside the grounds, accessed from Twelfth Street by the entrance gate adorned with the proprietor's name "R. Buist". Outside of the nursery, several men and women converse on the sidewalk. One of the men holds a driving whip, and is presumably the driver of the stalled horse-drawn carriage in front of the entrance. Another driver stands in front of a team of horses pulling a covered cart, grasps the reins, and leads them along Rodman Street toward a man attempting to rein in a rearing horse. Also shows men, women, children, and dogs on the sidewalk. A few trees dot the empty landscape behind the nursery. Buist established his business in 1828, which was known as Robert Buist Company well into the Twentieth century.

ABOVE: philadelphiabuildingsproject.org

The 1839 book, by the respected Philadelphia nursery 

and seedsman Robert Buist, has the longest title I have seen!

 The American Flower Garden Directory: Containing Practical Directions for the Culture of Plants in the Flower Garden, Hot-house, Green-house, Rooms, Or Parlour Windows, for Every Month in the Year. With a Description of the Plants Most Desirable in Each, the Nature of the Soil, and Situation Best Adapted to Their Growth, the Proper Season for Transplanting, &c. Instructions for Erecting a Hot-house, Green-house, and Laying Out a Flower Garden. Also, Table of Soils Most Congenial to the Plants Contained in the Work. The Whole Adapted to Either Large Or Small Gardens, with Instructions for Preparing the Soil, Propagating, Planting, Pruning, Training, and Fruiting the Grape Vine. With Descriptions of the Best Sorts for Cultivating in the Open Air          Link

Not much to look at now with its faded embossed cloth binding which
may have been green originally.  Green is an extremely fugitive color .

In 1840, Loudon wrote in his London periodical, 

The Gardener's Magazine and Register of Rural and Domestic Improvement, the following review. 

This differs from most of the American works on gardening, in being an original composition from beginning to end. It is most judiciously adapted to the country in which it is published ; and the author is one of the best cultivators in the United States. There is no American work that we know of at all to be compared with it in point of usefulness. We owe the author an apology for not having sooner acknowledged the receipt of the copy he kindly sent us above a year ago.

I am beginning to wonder at the number of horticulturists that came from Scotland!!  Robert Buist was one of them arriving here in the United States in 1828 after having served his apprenticeship in Scotland.  Once here he first worked for David Landreth who was one of the earliest nurserymen in our history. 

This is Buist. from Gardener's Monthly and Horticulturist, vol.XXII, 1880

 In only two years, he went into business with a Mr. Hibbert as a florist in Philadelphia.  They were very successful.  One of their famous plant introductions was the poinsettia obtained through the Minister to Mexico,  Mr. Poinsett.  When Mr Hibbert died, Buist continued on his own, and was succeeded after his death in 1880 at age 75 by his son  of the same name.  His obituary, in 

Gardener's Monthly and Horticulturist,  goes into great and affectionate details of his life.  It is a good read! 

1851 Buist building in Philadelphia.

Buist made trips to Europe for new varieties of plants and seed which he brought back and raised in his nursery.  It was noted he was going in an issue of the  Philadelphia Florist and Horticultural Journal of early 1852, saying - We shall look anxiously for the return of Mr. Buist, with the plant novelties of Paris and London, he set out on his important journey on last Saturday, in the "Arctic" in good spirits—we hope we will be borne out in our statements, that Philadelphia is not behind the time in Horticulture...

 An entry later in the year in the same Journal asked, while Buist's trip was of interest to be sure, why was it important enough to be mentioned in the minutes of the society?    (A wee bit of rivalry perhaps?)

This title page is too cool to leave unshared :-)

The Gardener's Monthly in 1870, in a piece about bedding plants and how they were being improved, contained this...

These colorful catalog covers are the son's.  And I think this above building is his period as well.

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More books by the first Robert Buist:

• The Family Kitchen Gardener: Containing Plain and Accurate Descriptions of All the Different Species and Varieties of Culinary Vegetables ... Also, Descriptions and Characters of the Most Select Fruits, Their Management, Propagation, Etc. Illustrated with Twenty-five Engravings 
• The Rose Manual: Containing Accurate Descriptions of All the Finest Varieties of Roses, Properly Classed in Their Respective Families, Their Character and Mode of Culture, with Directions for Their Propagation, and the Destruction of Insects