Henry Nicholson Ellacombe
Life and career
Henry Nicholson Ellacombe (1822–1916) was an English clergyman and horticulturist associated with Bitton in Gloucestershire. He wrote gardening books and contributed to the Gardeners’ Chronicle. His correspondence with Charles Darwin included discussion and exchange of plants. The Plant-Lore and Garden-Craft of Shakespeare brings those horticultural interests into contact with literature, inviting readers to consider the practical and cultural meanings attached to the plants named in Shakespeare’s works.
A garden within a quotation
Ellacombe treats Shakespeare’s plant names as connections between language and practical knowledge. A brief dramatic image can lead into cultivation, folklore, or the history of a botanical term. His method encourages a slower reading of details that otherwise seem merely decorative. It also preserves the perspective of a nineteenth-century horticulturist: the book’s identifications and judgments belong to a particular history of scholarship rather than providing a timeless explanation of every plant mentioned on stage.
Using the revised edition
The main discussion is organized around plants, followed by a treatment of garden craft and appendices that include the daisy and the seasons of the plays. Line references and acknowledged corrections make this revised text useful for consultation. Its structure allows a reader to begin with one quotation rather than proceed only from first page to last. The movement between literary passage and botanical discussion can disclose several possible associations without proving that every association was intended in the original dramatic scene.
Returning to the play
After reading an entry, return to the speech from which the plant name comes. Ask who uses the image, what the speaker wants, and whether the surrounding action supports the suggested association. Separate historical naming from present-day botanical or gardening advice. The most productive use of the book is often comparative: it enlarges the field of possible meanings, while the actual dramatic context helps determine which possibilities deserve the greatest weight. The reference format rewards revisiting an entry after hearing the same image spoken by a different character.