During conversations about women in horticulture, someone always asks "What famous women in horticulture do you know?" This is usually met with silence, and a few "Ummms..." Some might even counter the question with "Well, what famous male horticulturists does anyone even know?" This second question usually gets a few excited answers: "Olmstead!", "Capability Brown!", "William Kent!", and "Chistopher Lloyd!". These men all contributed greatly to the art of horticulture and their well known stories deserve to be told, but where are the women's stories?
Meet Christian Ramsey, also known as Lady Dalhousie. My patron saint of Female Plant Collectors. Her story deserves to be told, and she will get a full post for us to properly get to know her.
This section of the blog invites readers to learn a little about the women who have shaped the green industry. It also invites readers to WRITE about historic women in horticulture by being a guest blogger on this page. Email me at WomenInHort@gmail.com to coordinate.
My hope is that this is just the start of acknowledging the accomplishments of historic women in horticulture. Perhaps modern female horticulturists will also be inspired to document and share their stories to demonstrate to future generations that great contributions to horticulture should be celebrated and recorded regardless of gender.
Here's a link to get you a jump start on the histories of some women in horticulture: http://horttech.ashspublications.org/content/2/2/180.full.pdf