Women Botanists & Botanical Artists
19th and 20th Century Plant Pioneers
In the winter 2018 to 2022 issues of the Arboretum Bulletin, manager of the Elisabeth C. Miller Library Brian Thompson wrote a four-part book-review series about the lives and achievements of early women botanists and botanical artists in Europe, North America, and beyond.
These fearless, pioneering women upended stereotypes and broke down barriers of male hierarchy, while contributing to the advancement of our knowledge and appreciation of plants. Read about their lives, the books they published, and their biographies, and visit the Miller Library to see and learn more.
- Part 1: Jane Webb Loudon, Frances Perry, Wendy Walsh, Ellis Rowan
- Part 2: Emma Thayer, Mary Elizabeth Parsons, Margaret Armstrong, Julia Henshaw, Edith Clements
- Part 3: Margaret Stones, Helen O’Gorman, Audrey Eagle, Emily Carr
- Part 4: Catherine Parr Traill, Mary Schäffer Warren, Mary Vaux Walcott, Julia Henshaw
Mary Schäffer Warren exploring in the Canadian Rockies, circa 1911.
Meconopsis × sheldonii ‘Slieve Donard’, by Wendy Walsh, circa 1983.
2022 Annual Meeting Report
We had a good turnout for our Annual Meeting on June 15—our first in-person version of the event in three years! More than 70 Arboretum Foundation members joined us to hear about our fiscal-year accomplishments, listen to updates from our UW and City partners, and...
Foundation Renames Plant Donations Nursery in Honor of Founding Volunteers
On Wednesday, June 1, 2022, the Arboretum Foundation officially renamed the Plant Donations Nursery in honor of its two founding volunteers, Rita Rae Cloney and Barbara Harris. Nursery volunteers, Arboretum staff, and friends and family gathered to celebrate the...
Snakebark Maples of the Arboretum
We admire the stripes of tigers, zebras, and exotic reptiles as marvels of natural pattern. The plant world has its fair share of stunning striation, too, perhaps no more astounding than in the snakebark maples (including the Japanese red snakebark maple, Acer...