Robert Gathorne-Hardy, FLS (31 July 1902 – 11 February 1973) was a British prose writer, poet, botanist, and horticulturalist.
In Oxford he co-founded the Uffizi Society alongside Anthony Eden and Lord David Cecil.
Although he also wrote fiction, including Lacebury Manor and Other Seas, and some bibliographical works, Gathorne-Hardy is best known for his books on plants that he researched while growing in the garden or about plants that he collected in different parts of the world.
He also worked- alongside his elder brother Edward- as a director of the booksellers Elkin Mathews.
[3] Gathorne-Hardy's sister, Anne (1911-2006), was the wife of George Heywood Hill, owner of the Mayfair bookshop bearing his name.