Women Botanists & Botanical Artists
19th and 20th Century Plant Pioneers
In the winter 2018 to 2026 issues of the Arboretum Bulletin, manager of the Elisabeth C. Miller Library Brian Thompson wrote an eight-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
- Part 5: Alice Eastwood, Katherine Brandegee, Kate Sessions, Ynés Mexía, Sara Plummer Lemmon
- Part 6: Matilda Smith, Lilian Snelling, Arabella Elizabeth Roupell, Elinor Frances Vallentin, Harriet Isabel Adams
- Part 7: Kate Furbish, Caroline Dormon, Lester Rowntree, Marianne North
- Part 8: Louise Beebe Wilder, Helen Morgenthau Fox, Louise Mansfield, Elsie Reford
Mary Schäffer Warren exploring in the Canadian Rockies, circa 1911.
Meconopsis × sheldonii ‘Slieve Donard’, by Wendy Walsh, circa 1983.
Conservation Corner: Large-Winged Wingnut
The winged fruits of Pterocarya macroptera maturing in summer. (Photo by Niall Dunne)BY CHRISTINA PFEIFFER Quietly tucked away in the Arboretum’s old field nursery, on the south side of Crabapple Meadow, a stately specimen of Pterocarya macroptera holds court amid a...
Volunteers Enjoy Field Trip to the Seattle Aquarium
BY ALICIA HAMILTON In late July, 40 volunteers from the Washington Park Arboretum, Center for Urban Horticulture, and the Seattle Japanese Garden enjoyed a special free outing to the Seattle Aquarium. For some, it was their first visit to the Aquarium in decades, and...
Japanese Garden Reopening Soon as Master Stonemason Set to Arrive
Workers placing a protective barrier around the Japanese Garden's prized Yamasaki Pine, prior to removal of the old wall. (Photo by Jared Ridabock)The Ishigaki Wall and Accessible Pathway project at the Seattle Japanese Garden is proceeding apace. Earlier this month,...