Petticoats and Plants - The Untold Story of Scotland’s Gardening Women 1800-1930

The phenomenal success of Scotland’s gardening men has been well documented throughout history, but what of the women? Until now, there have been only glimpses of the extraordinary women who went ‘beyond their garden gates’ - women who cultivated, collected and made substantial contributions to horticulture within Britain. In-depth biographies of a selection of Scottish gardening women reveal how they were effectively marginalised and why their work has largely been forgotten within the narrative of Scotland’s garden history. Deborah Reid promoted London’s Historic Royal Palaces and the Edinburgh International Conference Centre before swapping a career in Marketing and PR for plants. Having retrained in horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, she was awarded a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 2015 for her thesis entitled Unsung heroines of horticulture: Scottish gardening women, 1800 to 1930. She is a visiting lecturer at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh where she lectures on the social history of gardening and has mentored apprentice gardeners working within historic gardens at English Heritage properties. She is also a working gardener and serves as a trustee for Jock Tamson’s Gairden, a community garden in the heart of Edinburgh. Free but booking is essential. Please book on link or by ringing reception on 0131 529 3993. Please note the location of this event is at the City Art Centre.