122 Gender and Space in Rural Britain, 1840–1920
articles.^32 In this same year, Jekyll’s fi rst article on ‘Colour in the Flower Gar-
den’ was published, the subject on which she was most prolifi c in her writings
and most passionate about in her work.^33 Th us, once she had gained favourable
reception, she was able to write on topics of greater interest to her.
Th is was shortly thereaft er followed by her entry into the more scientifi c
realm wherein she explored more detailed horticultural matters and conveyed
her vast knowledge. In the latter half of 1882 and into 1883 Jekyll wrote eight
articles on specifi c fl owers – ‘Daphne indica planted out’, ‘Narcissus monophyllus’,
‘Anemone fulgens’, ‘Ornithogalum nutans’, ‘Anemone apennina’ and ‘Androsace
carnea’ – using their scientifi c rather than common names and discussing their
merits both as plants and as visual elements of the garden picture.^34 Even within
the acceptable space of the fl ower garden, a gender-delineated line was drawn
between pottering with plants and articulating scientifi c knowledge. Loudon
wrote about botany in a non-scientifi c way to make the subject more accessible
to her female readers. She argued that botanical books were all written by men,
for men, who had had the opportunity to learn Latin and engage with scientifi c
subjects: ‘even their elementary [botany] books are like the old Eton Grammar
when it was written in Latin – they require a master to explain them’.^35 Jekyll,
however, engaged with the scientifi c elements of her topic, making it accessible
to a varied audience without removing the more technical aspects. Furthermore,
she did this alongside her articles on domestic plants and artistic arrangements.
By writing about both areas she silently declared that she could and would
engage in both the female and male arenas of horticulture.
By 1899 Jekyll had proven herself to be a successful, and very busy, profes-
sional and practitioner in multiple ways: the political journalist Edward Tyas
Cook and Edward Hudson, the owner of Country Life, made a visit to her own
cultivated Eden, Munstead Wood; her fi rst full-length work, Wood and Garden,
was published by Longmans; she collaborated with long-term professional part-
ner and architect, Edwin Lutyens, on three garden commissions and designed
independently for three others; she wrote an article for English Life on ‘Snap-
dragons’; and was given an ‘Award of Merit’ for her creation of a viola variety,
‘Jackanapes’, by the Royal Horticultural Society.^36 Jekyll’s acceptance in the fi eld
was secure enough to become co-editor of the Garden with Cook in January
1900.^37 Th eir partnership provided the journal with Jekyll’s knowledge of hor-
ticulture and Cook’s experience in newspaper journalism. As an editor, Jekyll’s
name, and by extension, reputation became widespread in the gardening world.
Her infl uence was increasingly visible as she continued to write for the Garden
and her work became lengthier and illustrated by her own photography. In 1900,
Jekyll was working on her next two full-length publications, Lilies for English
Gardens and Wall and Water Gardens, both published by Country Life in 1901.^38
In addition to her book preparation, she wrote twelve articles for Th e Garden
and Ladies Field and accepted a garden design commission.^39