Vitis vinifera ‘Ferdinand de Lesseps’

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.

In 2000 Barbara began taking classes with Anne-Marie Evans in Los Angeles and England, and continues to paint with her today. Her art has been exhibited with the A-ME Group at Lincoln Cathedral and she has a painting in The Robinson Gardens Florilegium. Living in southern California, it was difficult to find a heritage fruit dating back to at least 1850. With the help of Filoli, an early 20th century estate and botanical gardens near San Francisco, she found just what she needed in the Ferdinand de Lesseps grape.