ABSTRACT

Returning to Clusius’s own age, we nd two more signi cant clusters of wealthy garden lovers in the Southern Netherlands – all of them close friends of Clusius, while several also gure on Lobel’s list of experts. Most of these men belonged to a slightly younger generation than Saint Omer, Brancion or Coudenberghe, but the various clusters overlapped in terms of generation as well as time. Interestingly, their letters tell us not only about their fascination with plants and gardens, but occasionally also reveal how they regarded themselves and each other in so far as expertise was concerned.