"In 1768, when a Scotsman named John Veitch went to England to find his fortune, he took a position as a gardener for the aristocracy. Realizing that horticultural mania was spreading furiously, Veitch and his wife opened a nursery and began to send the first commercial plant collectors to North and South America, Australia, India, Japan, China, and the South Seas. These plant collectors were among the first Westerners allowed into the countries of the Far East, and Shephard's stories of their travels there - often perilous, sometimes fatal - are dazzling tales of exploration. Meanwhile, as the Veitches expanded their nursery into the most successful in Europe, they made invaluable contributions to the science of botany, including the first orchid hybrid."--BOOK JACKET.