Women Who Shaped Garden History
A curated selection of the most important and enjoyable books about the history of gardens and the women who shaped them.
A History of Gardening in England by Alicia Amherst (1895). The first comprehensive scholarly history of English gardens, still valuable and surprisingly readable. Amherst's research in primary sources set the standard for garden history as a discipline.
The Story of Gardening by Penelope Hobhouse (2002). A global survey of garden history from Hobhouse, one of the most respected garden designers and historians of the contemporary period. Well-illustrated and authoritative.
Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition by Robert Pogue Harrison (2008). A philosophical exploration of what gardens mean and why humans create them. Not specifically about women in gardens, but essential reading for anyone interested in the deeper questions garden history raises.
Gertrude Jekyll by Sally Festing (1991). The standard biography of Jekyll, drawing on her papers and correspondence. Detailed and well-researched.
Vita's Other World by Jane Brown (1985). A study of Vita Sackville-West's garden-making at Sissinghurst and elsewhere, placing her work in the context of English garden history.
Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes by Judith B. Tankard (2009). A comprehensive account of Farrand's career and design philosophy, with photographs and plans of her major gardens.
Miss Willmott's Ghosts by Sandra Lawrence (2023). A recent biography of Ellen Willmott that explores her extraordinary horticultural achievements and her complicated personal life.
Women in the Garden: Their Influence on British Garden History by Catherine Horwood (2010). An overview of women's contributions to British gardens from the medieval period to the present.
The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession by Andrea Wulf (2008). While focused on male gardeners and botanists, this book provides essential context for understanding the world in which Jane Colden, Mary Delany, and other 18th-century women worked.