Meehan, Thomas

me'an, Thomas (1826-1901), a celebrated American gardener. He was born near London, the son of an English gardener. He was employed in the Kew Gardens for two years. In 1848 he came to Philadelphia to take charge of Bartram's Gardens, now a part of the public park system of that city. Six years later he established the celebrated Germantown nurseries. He was for thirty years the editor of the Gardener's Monthly. In 1878 he began to publish The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States. He founded Meehan' s Monthly in 1891. He was a member of various learned societies, and held the office of state botanist of Pennsylvania. He was a strong believer in the theory of evolution as applied to plants, and was a remarkably successful breeder of new varieties. See Burbank