Samuel Curtis (1779 – 1860) had a botanist’s knowledge and an artist’s eye. Curtis maintained famous gardens in England, first purchasing a garden in Walworth. He learned enough about horticulture to publish a stunning botanical book, which was illustrated by acclaimed artists Thomas Baxter and Clara Maria Pope. Curtis later bought a larger property in Glazenwood and filled it with magnificent flowering shrubs, including his prized magnolias and camellias. Inspired by Glazenwood, he published his most famous book, “The Monograph of the Genus Camilla,” also illustrated by Baxter and Pope. Eventually, Curtis bought an island garden in La Chaire and filled it with an unrivalled diversity of subtropical plants.