Wendy will present an illustrated talk which will briefly outline some elements of ancient Egyptian history from its unification from “Two Lands” into an early nation state and through the 3 great pharaonic periods known today as the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, to give context to a discussion of the use of garden and plant images throughout this history.

The unique hieroglyphic system of writing developed and refined over this long period, approximately 2500-1070 BC, contained at least 44 images of plants and parts of plants, giving some insight into the common plants gathered or grown and used by the ancient Egyptians for a variety of purposes. In many cases these images came to represent ideas and sentiments beyond the direct physical representation of the flora involved, giving some insight into the thinking of these early societies.