She was the inspiration for nearly 200 plant names, but Ellen Ann Willmott’s reputation as a 19th century horticulturalist has been damaged by rumors that she carried a gun and sabotaged gardens of others. We look at a new discovery that sheds light on the great gardener – and her rude behavior – during Chelsea Flower Week.
Miss Willmott’s Ghost is a silvery-spiky sea holly with a ghost-like appearance at dusk. Many gardening websites attribute it to Ellen Ann Willmott, a 19th century horticulturist. Ellen carried the seeds of this thorny, invasive plant in her handbag and would secretly scatter them in gardens around the world to derail their plans.
There was rumour that Miss Willmott carried a loaded revolver in her handbag. Is this a true picture of a gun-carrying guerrilla gardeninger?
Ellen Ann Willmott was a leading gardener, plant hunter and photographer of her time. She was presented with the Victoria Medal of Honour by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1897. This was an indication of the admiration she received for her work in an industry dominated by men.
Only two of the 60 gold medals were awarded that year to women. Ellen didn’t show up to collect her award, which caused shock and disdain.
Sandra Lawrence has written a book about the gardener, “The master of ceremonies kept saying, ‘Lady, gentlemen’, and this was very embarrassing.”
Sandra, who has always been fascinated by Ellen Ann Willmott since she visited her gardens as a kid, said that most people would have assumed Ellen couldn’t bother to collect her medal and that this was normal of Ellen.
Sandra says that “Nobody doubts she was an amazing horticulturalist and a fascinating, very knowledgeable woman.” Ellen was also known for being a bit rude. People remember Ellen as eccentric, grumpy and prickly. She is accused of being both a loser and a miser, and she was also accused of doing unpleasant things.
Sandra recently discovered that Ellen’s absence at one of her most important events was not due to rudeness but because of a sudden end of a relationship.
Ellen Ann Willmott was born in Warley Place, Brentwood, Essex. Although the family was comfortably middle-class, Ellen was largely self-taught, Sandra says, “because girls weren’t able to get that kind of education.” Her influence was still felt and Warley Place gardens were visited by the Royal Family. She introduced new species of daffodils to the garden and created an alpine rock garden with streams and a fern grotto.
Sandra explored the hothouses and alpine gardens that Ellen loved as a child. She describes it as “my very own secret garden” and she believes there was treasure. She did eventually find riches, but not at Warley.
Ellen died in 1934. Her belongings were then sent to Spetchley Park, Worcester, by her sister, who later married into the Berkeley family.
They remained there until 2019, when they discovered that a basement was rotting with trunks full of items. Sandra Lawrence and Karen Davidson (archivist for the Berkeley estate) had only days to clean it up before builders arrived to begin conservation work. They sorted through silverfish, dust and beetles to find letters, documents, photos, journals, and receipts and transferred what they could into bankers boxes.
It was called the “Willmott Tombola” because they didn’t know what they would get.
Sandra states, “I reached in and pulled out a 1771 letter from Empress Maria Theresa.” They found the remains of a 100 year-old chocolate bar, the first eight pages of an unpublished Purcell sonata and an autograph book for thumbprints, also known as a “thumbo-graph”.
Sandra began cross-checking her findings against other sources, such as old newspapers and journals, diaries, and train tickets. Ellen even had her appointments recorded.
Sandra found Ellen to be a more “nuanced” person than we would like to believe. She pushed the boundaries of women’s roles.
Ellen set out to join learned societies that were previously restricted to men. Ellen was one of the first women to join The Linnean Society. It is described as “the oldest active society devoted exclusively to natural history in the world”.
Sandra explains that Ellen was trying to join the big boys who had a public school education and had gone to university. They could read Latin and understand science, but she wanted to be able to compete with them. She believes Ellen was lacking confidence despite this. “I believe she was dragged her whole life believing she wasn’t enough and that someone would find her out.”
Sandra believes that Ellen did not show up for her RHS award because she knew why.
Sandra and Karen discovered letters from Miss Georgiana Tufnell (or “Gian”) among the documents. Gian was Ellen’s close friend and served as a lady in-waiting for Princess Mary Adelaide. Gian’s letters suggest Ellen and Gian were deeply in love.
Ellen was only 29 years old when Gian met Ellen. Ellen was in her mid-thirties at the time. The intimacy they shared is evident in their letters. Gian writes, “You could not love me as deeply as you love me and not feel what I feel.”
Sandra’s research shows that women didn’t hide their feelings of affection. After three years, however, everything had changed.
Gian’s employer Princess Mary had been in decline throughout 1897, and her death would have put Gian in a financial predicament. Sandra relates how Gian was shocked to announce his engagement to Lord George Mount Stephen on 13 October to Ellen’s shock. He was 35 years older than his future spouse.
The wedding was to be held on 27 October, which was the same day as the RHS ceremony where Ellen was to receive her prestigious award. Sandra believes that Ellen would have been too busy in London to be able to attend the wedding. Instead, she fled to France to live with her family.
Sandra says that Sandra believes she believed she had a broken heart.
The wedding was delayed until November due to the sudden death of Princess Mary following an emergency.
What about Ellen’s reputation for being a malicious saboteur, secretly dispersing seeds from Miss Willmott’s Ghost, her namesake plant?
Sandra says, “Ofcourse it’s myth,” and that this is a relatively recent myth. “It wasn’t until 1980 that we heard that story about her seed-bombing gardens of people. It’s a great metaphor because it can be used to describe a prickly personality.”
Sandra claims that Miss Willmott’s Ghost has never taken root. It’s not a great plant to seed bomb.
Sandra says that it remains a mystery how the plant came to be associated with Miss Willmott. Graham Stuart Thomas, a 1966 garden writer, asked where the name of the plant came from. Graham Stuart Thomas, a garden writer from 1966, asked his friends and family for information.
Sandra says Ellen’s reputation for pistol-wielding is well-deserved.
“She had a revolver in her bag and I found a duster for my knuckles, but not necessarily for the reasons that we might think.”
Sandra chuckled when Ellen first discovered the knuckle scrubber among her possessions. “I was thinking of a 70-year-old woman who was spoiled for a fight. But I think she had those things because she was scared.”
Sandra explains that Ellen ran out of money in her later years, around the 20th century, because she had spent everything.
Ellen couldn’t afford a car so she had to travel by train. Sandra believes that Ellen carried her weapons to protect herself when she walked to the station on a country lane.
There are many more Willmott archives that need to be processed. Sandra hopes Ellen, often overlooked in the list of gardening greats, will be judged more realistically and kindly at the end.
“She was a seminal figure in horticulture. Her reputation should now be that of someone who had a lot going for her. Sandra says that we should all accept the fact that none of us are perfect.
Essex Wildlife Trust manages Warley Place, a nature reserve covering 25 acres. The real ghosts of Miss Willmott’s legacy can still be seen growing there, including yellow daffodils that appear in spring.
Sandra wrote a book entitled Miss Willmott’s ghosts about her research.
Photos of Ellen Ann Willmott, Warley Place and the Spetchley Gardens Charitable Trust.
