Margaret Moffat (Madge) Elder (17 July 1893 – 25 December 1985) was a Scottish gardener, plant nursery owner, writer and feminist.[1] She published two books on the history and folklore of the Scottish Borders,[2][3][4] as well as regular articles for the Weekly Scotsman and The Scots Magazine. She recognised similarities between the suffrage movement and pioneering women gardeners.[5]
Margaret Moffat Elder | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 17 July 1893 |
| Died | 25 December 1985 |
| Education | First class certificate in horticulture
Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women in Corstorphine 1912 |
| Known for | Pioneering female gardener, writer |
| Parents |
|
Early life and education edit
Madge Elder was born in Portobello, near Edinburgh, on 17 July 1893 to Margaret Virtue and John Elder, a marine engineer. She was brought up on a farm in Berwickshire and educated at Gordon village school. She was solely reliant on lip-reading for communication due to deafness.[5]
At the age of 19, she was in one of the first classes to graduate from Scotland's first horticultural college for women: the Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women in Corstorphine,[6] graduating with a first-class certificate in horticulture.[5] Elder held gardening positions at the Priory in Melrose and joined the Duke of Buccleuch’s estate at Bowhill in 1918 [7] as head gardener under the red cross.[8]
Madge Elder retired from gardening in 1948 to become a writer.[6]
Publications edit
Madge wrote three works during her lifetime[9]
- Ballad Country, first published in 1963
- Tell the Towers thereof: the ancient Border story, first published in 1956
- Winter Garland, first published in 1947[9]
References edit
- ^ Reid, Deborah Anne (2015-11-25). "Unsung heroines of horticulture : Scottish gardening women, 1800 to 1930".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ OpenLibrary.org. "Ballad country (1963 edition) | Open Library". Open Library. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ OpenLibrary.org. "Tell the towers thereof (1956 edition) | Open Library". Open Library. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ Elder, Madge (1947). A winter garland 1941–1945. Galashiels: John McQueen & Son, Ltd. OL 20690243M.
- ^ a b c Ewan, Elizabeth; Pipes, Rose; Randall, Jane; Reynolds, Siân (2018). The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. pp. 130–131. ISBN 978-1-4744-3629-8. OCLC 1057237368.
- ^ a b Young, Fay (2016-03-08). "Erased from history: women gardeners". Sceptical Scot. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ "Gardening". Berwickshire News and General Advertiser. 18 September 1956.
- ^ Horwood, Catherine (2012-02-27). "Are you a Scottish Gardening Woman?". Gardening Women. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ^ a b OpenLibrary.org. "Madge Elder". Open Library. Retrieved 2023-04-28.