Victorian Plant Women
IN THE 19TH CENTURY, it was considered unacceptable for women to participate in many natural sciences; for a lady to kill, dissect, and study an animal would be improper. However, the work surrounding plants, such as arranging flowers for home décor or sketching specimens, was a domestic and therefore feminine pastime, and there was nothing to stop women from focusing seriously on the plant world through botany, horticulture, or gardening. While others considered plant science and the activities around it to be little more than a hobby, disregarding much of women’s research and findings, this outlook allowed women to take part in scientific study in previously inaccessible ways. Now they could invest their interest, intelligence, and time in a personally enriching activity still deemed appropriate for “the fairer sex.”
Plants in general became a fascination among the middle classes
