John Fleming was a Scottish-born gardener active in the middle of the nineteenth century. He was primarily known for his work establishing terrace gardens in country estates across Britain and was the first gardener to become known for ‘spring gardening’, the planting of bulbs in time for their blooming during the Spring months.

In 1868, Fleming planted a bed of dwarf foliage and succulents for the Duchess of Sutherland. He followed this with the creation of a wild garden at Cliveden in Buckinghamshire in the 1870s. This handbook of the wild flowers of Scotland was written by Fleming for the use of students and amateurs and was published in 1880.