Virgins, Weeders and Queens

Nova Corcoran

Ok so I stole the title from Twig Way (2006) and her history of women in the garden but early gardens and growing your own food has a history connected to women. Queens were often to be found in their gardens, Elizabeth I was rarely out of hers (although I am not sure she got their hands dirty growing vegetables). Even the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland is obsessed by her garden – she chopped off heads for her roses!

Women in history
Historically women have always been connected to gardening and growing food in gardens even if they are not visible in history. The job of a ‘weeder’ was a respectable profession for widows and spinsters who earnt a small sum of money weeding (Way 2006) Gardening is also connected to the women suffragette movement – Emily Pankhurst’s daughter Amelia attended horticultural college.

Gardening and health
It was recognised in the early 1900’s that gardening was good for health and happiness of the body and mind and traditionally women often supported their households by growing herbs and medicines. It was war that changed women’s role in gardening and vegetables, as men went to war women were left at home to feed a nation. Bombsites were converted into allotments and women encouraged to ‘dig for victory’ turning gardens into vegetable plots and picking up spades to get digging. The question is if historically women were closely connected to growing food, why are many women not carrying on this tradition?

What does it mean for you?
Just under 30% of women obtain the recommended levels of weekly physical activity (30 minutes five times a week) (Sustrans 2011). Time, family commitments and careers may be one obstacle, but we should still get out and grow what we can for ourselves and our families. Did you know you can burn approximately 118 calories in 20 minutes of gardening i.e. moderate digging (calorie counter 2009)? In addition growing your own may help improve mental health and relieve stress (NHS 2011). Certainly preliminary findings from research that I have undertaken suggest that females cite mental health benefits as one of the main advantages of growing your own. So what are you waiting for? Grab a spade and get growing!