The Tradescants were 17th century gardeners who introduced many new plants to England. More than 160 varieties of fruit were listed amongst the inventory of plants grown at the Tradescants nursery in Lambeth, many of which are illustrated in the Orchard. The Garden Museum invited 40 of the worlds leading botanical artists to paint watercolours of fruit in response to the Orchard.
Living in Thailand Caroline noticed pomegranate trees growing semi-wild and thought it might be an interesting subject to draw. Her search for a heritage variety eventually led her back to the Chelsea Physic Garden where the pomegranate tree there is one of the oldest trees in the garden. Caroline is interested in the therapeutic and medicinal properties of plants and has lived for extended periods in S.E. Asia, Japan, India and Burma.