Thomas
Fairchild was the first English nurseryman to
experiment with hybridization of plants. Before 1717
he placed the pollen of sweet william on the style of
carnations. Johnson (1829) states that he was one of
the few gardeners "uniting a love of science with the
practice of his art."
He was the author of The City Gardener
(1722) which was the first book on town gardening. His
book was particularly important since it listed the
plants which could be grown in London even in the 18th
Century. It is interesting to note that the most
serious problem was the rapid rise of smoke pollution
which one can understand in view of the massive number
of chimneys and the extensive use of coal current in
London even today. The book was purposefully written
to enable those who lived in the city to "delight
themselves in gardening" and to prepare them to enjoy
the country when they retired from business. We also
learn that apple trees flowered abundantly within the
city but they did not bear fruit unless grafted on
dwarfing stock. He gave a considerable list of
evergreen trees and flowers for London gardens. He was
a leading member of the Society of Gardeners,
comprised at first of 19 gardeners, and his name
stands first upon a list of members, in the preface of
a work published by them in 1730. Catalogus
Plantarum - A Catalogue of Trees, Shrubs, etc; for
Sale in the Gardens near London by a Society of
Gardeners appeared in 1731 after Fairchild's
death.
