In the first edition (June 1979) of The Plantsman (a specialist magazine, published by the Royal Horticultural Society from 1994 until June 2019, when it was announced that the title would be changed to The Plant Review),[4] Sandra Raphael (then a senior editor in the Dictionary Department of the Oxford University Press) contributed a short article on the history and meaning of the word.
She added that a modern definition should point out that "plantsman" In her article, Raphael also quotes botanist David McClintock (writing in the Botanical Society of the British Isles' BSBI News, December 1976) on how to distinguish a botanist from a plantsman, beginning with the simple definition: John Tradescant the elder (ca 1570s–1638) and his son, John Tradescant the younger (1608–1662), must head the list of historic plantsmen.
[9] Because of their in-depth knowledge, specialist plant-breeders may be considered as plantsmen in their own fields (though the term is often taken to imply a more encyclopaedic interest in a wide range of plants).
Influential garden writers such as William Robinson (1838–1935)[10][11] and garden-designer Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932)[12] disseminated their knowledge of plants through their writing, as did a later generation of plant-lovers including Margery Fish (1892–1969)[13] and Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962), whose garden at Sissinghurst Castle, created with her husband Harold Nicolson, is now owned by the National Trust and one of the most popular in Britain.
[20] American nurserymen and plant-collectors who qualify for the title include plant-breeder Dan Heims of Terra Nova Nurseries (who styles himself a "hortiholic"),[21] Dan Hinkley, co-founder of Heronswood (now an independent author, lecturer and horticultural consultant),[22] and Tony Avent, owner of the renowned Plant Delights Nursery.