​Celebrating Women in Horticulture – International Women's Day

Image: West Dean Gardens. Credit: West Dean Gardens May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them. To celebrate International Women’s Day, we’re going to share some of the most influential women within horticulture and their stories.

For hundreds of years, women have owned and grown some of the most popular gardens that we still see today. Here are just a few legacies left by influential women in horticulture! Beth Chatto Image: Beth Chatto. Credit: Beth Chatto Gardens Beth Chatto was a garden designer, author, and planting enthusiast.

She won 10 gold medals in a row at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, named several plants, and honed her signature wildlife-friendly planting style. It’s highly popular today, but back then it was quite unusual. According to the RHS, one judge wanted to disqualify her because ‘all her plants were weeds’.

To this day, her garden in Colchester showcases her signature style. Established in 1960, the once-overgrown wasteland is now an informal oasis, featuring seasonal plants that settle in nicely within the East Anglian backdrop. The garden is over 60 years old and was once the home of the Chatto family.

In 2002, Chatto was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. She sadly passed away aged 94 in 2018 and was named an RHS Iconic Horticultural Hero posthumously in 2019. Vita Sackville-West Image: The White Garden at Sissinghurt Castle Garden. Credit: National Trust Born in 1892, Vita Sackville-West is well known for her influence on Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent. In fact, this garden is considered one of the most famous gardens in the world. Vita and her husband restored the gardens and the Tudor-style home after they purchased it in 1930. Her style featured formal displays