Alison Wessely
The role of women in gardening over the last few centuries reflect both the societal norms and the challenging dynamics of the domestic and public spheres. A common sense approach would suggest that there is nothing gender specific about ‘green fingers’ however gender tension has structured the history of gardening. While men traditionally dominated formal garden design and horticultural professions, women have played crucial though often less visible roles in cultivating plants, maintaining gardens and passing down botanical knowledge.
Until the 19th century, women did not have the education, the psychological permission or the practical opportunities to write gardening books. Women were primarily responsible for domestic gardening, often overseeing the cultivation of herbs, vegetables and flowers for household use. In the absence of formal education and professional horticulture, women became practical experts in their homes.
In elite circles, women exerted influence in the design and upkeep of formal gardens, especially during the renaissance and baroque periods. Queens and noblewomen often commissioned and managed the gardens at their palaces but the credit for garden designs typically went to male architects.
As botany began to emerge as a scientific discipline, some women were able to engage in more formalized botanical exploration. Mary Delany (1700-1788) one of a handful of women who were able to break into the scientific study of plants, gained recognition for her work in botanical illustration. Knowledge of botany through artistry was seen as sanctioned expression of the lady’s oneness with nature.
An improvement in women’s education led to the appearance of the first books on gardening by women. Jane Louden wrote Gardening for Ladies in 1843 which challenged the received wisdom that ladies were too delicate to dig for ‘no lady is likely to become fond of gardening who does not do a great deal with her own hands’. Never a truer word said. At the time of Loudens writing, the feminine ideal consisted in working hard for God, the family and the home. Gardening was also seen as a symbol of domestic virtue and the cultivation of a “well-ordered” life. Despite the changes that Loudens writing both illustrated and initiated, women garden writers continued to represent themselves as ignorant amateurs. Gertrude Jekyll described herself as a practical amateur despite her notoriety.
By 1900, with emerging feminism and the rise of the suffrage movement, women began to challenge traditional gender roles. Professional possibilities and equal rights were demanded and women began to organize together as gardeners. The entry of women professionally changed the face of gardening and those who championed women into horticulture believed gardening should be approached as a ‘profession’ other than a working-class trade.
Since the early 20th century there has been a growing recognition of women’s contributions to gardening as both a scientific and cultural practice. Women’s involvement in gardens is often celebrated not just in terms of nurturing plants but also as an expression of independence, creativity and agency.
Gender tension historically has fostered a division of labour that is oppressive and restrictive to women. By challenging and transcending the obstacles they faced the psychological attributes instilled in women today have arguably enriched the practice of gardening.
References:
R Parker, Unnatural History: Women,Gardening and Femininity (Francis and Lincoln,2005)
Further reading:
T Way, Virgins, Weeders and Queens (Stroud,2006)
C Horwood, Gardening Women (Bath,2011)
R Floud, An Economic History of the English Garden (London,2019)
