Cory created and profited from a highly lucrative shipping and coal exporting enterprise that spanned the empire. When he wasn’t engrossed with his business, he was an enthusiastic gardener whose passion for plants far exceeded his passion for Chinese porcelain, paintings and other objects of art.
The decades before and just after the turn of the twentieth century were a time of frantic plant discovery and acquisition, and avid collectors like Cory were keen to get their hands on the most unusual and novel plants available. As well as sponsoring plant collecting expeditions by some of the leading botanists of his day, Cory took part in several trips to South Africa, the Caribbean and the Atlas Mountains. His financial support for these excursions meant that, as a subscriber, he received a share of the seeds collected. This included the paperbark maple, grown from seed collected by the famous botanist Ernest Wilson (1876-1930) during his 1901 expedition to China.
Plants on show
In many ways the planted areas of Cory’s gardens can be regarded as the outdoor equivalents of the walls and shelves used to display his indoor collectables. In order to create a fitting outdoor ‘gallery’ for the amazing bounty arising from his botanical expeditions, Cory called on the services of leading landscape designer Thomas Mawson (1861-1933) to help him.