Knowledge (XXG)

Lester Gertrude Ellen Rowntree

Source đź“ť

51:
Kansas where two of her siblings died because of a contaminated water supply. After these disastrous two years in Kansas the Lester family moved to a Quaker community near Los Angeles; it was here that Lester first became acquainted with the California wildflowers that became her life’s passion. Although Lester attended high school at Westtown outside of Philadelphia, and settled originally in New Jersey after marriage to Bernard Rowntree (also of a Quaker family) in 1908, and where their only child, Cedric Rowntree, was born in 1911, they relocated back to southern California in 1920, and then to the Carmel Highlands (a few miles south of Carmel itself) in 1925. There, on property overlooking the Pacific, Lester began her career with native plants. By 1930 she owned a business, Lester Rowntree & Company in Carmel, Ca. which sold wildflower seeds to gardeners across the country. She never gathered seeds in the wild to sell directly but took just enough wild-seed to propagate seed stock in her garden. Domestic matters, however, suffered and in 1931 Lester and Bernard divorced; Lester moved up the hill above the coastal pine forest where she built a small wooden house and nursery on several acres that became her garden and home base until her death in 1979, five days after her 100th birthday.
64:
free to trek up and down the long state of California, and to satisfy my insistent curiosity about plants, to find them in their homes meeting their days and seasons, to write down their tricks and manners in my notebook, to photograph their flowers, to collect their seeds, to bring home seedlings in cans just emptied of tomato juice. “ I didn't take up this for the poetry of it. I had no ambition to become a picturesque Lady-Gypsy. I honestly wanted to find out about California wild flowers. There was little written about them in their habitats and nothing at all about their behavior in the garden, so I made it my job to discover the facts for myself.... "I inhabit my hillside only from November to February, while the winter storms are blowing and the winter rains pouring. In March and April I have long shining days on the desert, in May happy weeks in the foothills, where a chorus of robins wakes me and my morning bath is in a rushing stream of just-melted snow. In June I am in the northern counties scented with new-mown hay and wild strawberries. In July in the higher mountains, and in August and September up in the alpine zone with mule or burro.”
42:, the 19th century British botanist who first documented western North American flora. Joan Parry Dutton writes: “There are striking similarities between Lester Rowntree and David Douglas. In fact, Lester could be Douglas’ plant-wise and spiritual descendant Lester's knowledge of California wild flowers is unrivaled; it is safe she knows more about them than Douglas ever knew. " 59:
Lester Rowntree was a talented and prolific writer, authoring two well-received books on native plants and shrubs, four children’s books, and over 700 magazine, newspaper, and journal articles. A full bibliography of her writings is found as an appendix in the 2006 reprinting of “Hardy Californians”.
63:
A sample of Rowntree's lively prose follows, taken from her article “The Lone Hunter” published in the June 1939 issue of The Atlantic Monthly. “It took adversity to bring me the sort of life I have always longed for. Not until after my domestic happiness had gone to smash did I realize that I was
72:
Writer and horticulturalist Judith Larner Lowry comments on Rowntree's legacy: “Today, it would be hard to find a professional in the field of native plant horticulture who was not, at some point, inspired by Lester Rowntree. The model of her double focus, wildland exploration and landscape use of
50:
Born Gertrude Ellen Lester to a Quaker family in Penrith, England, she spent the first ten years of her life in the picturesque landscape of the Lakes District, nurturing a deep appreciation of nature and an outdoor life. In 1889 Lester’s family relocated to the United States, to a homestead in
37:
A self-proclaimed “lady-gypsy”, Rowntree spent most of each year doing fieldwork in California and the West while living outdoors, believing that the only way to know native plants was to live with them for weeks at a time in their natural surroundings. Because of her reputation as a field
73:
plants, is followed by numerous California native plant horticulturists, from arboretum directors to landscapers to nursery professionals, who make regular trips into the wild for the pleasure of observing plants in their homes and to collect seeds and cuttings for propagation.”
319:
Rowntree, Lester B. and Rowan A. Rowntree. “About Lester.” Hardy Californians: A Women's Life with Native Plants. New, Expanded Edition. University of California Press. Lester B. Rowntree, editor. 2006.
300:
Lowry, Judith L. “Lester Rowntree’s Horticultural Legacy.” Hardy Californians: A Women's Life with Native Plants. New, Expanded Edition. Lester B. Rowntree, editor. University of California Press. 2006.
34:
native plants. In numerous journal and magazine articles, books, and public lectures, she shared her extensive knowledge of wildflowers and shrubs while arguing tirelessly for their protection.
297:
Levenson, Rosemary. "Lester Rowntree: California Native Plant Woman." Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library, University of California. 1979. 344 pages.
310:
O’Grady, Sean. “Lester Rowntree: Vernacular Natural Historian”. Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment. Spring 1993/ v 1 no 1, pp. 97–105
304:
Lowry, Judith L. “Supreme Advocate for California Native Plants: Lester Rowntree.” The Landscaping Ideas of Jays. University of California Press. 2007. 78–91.
366: 78: 230: 270:
Brandt, Cora R. “Lester Rowntree: Denizen of the Mountains.” Journal of the California Horticultural Society 14. No 1 (January 1955): 8–17.
356: 341: 246: 178: 291:
Ingram, Marie. “Lester Rowntree (1879-1979). Part Two: Sanctuary---Conserving the Worthwhile.” Hortus 8, no 4 (1994): 81–96.
336: 279:
Hamann, Skee. “Lester Rowntree, Mountain Mystic.” Journal of the California Horticultural Society 35, no 2 (1974): 73–76
361: 323:
Woolfenden, John. “Lester Rowntree.” Journal of the California Horticultural Society 29, no.4 (October 1968): 98–126.
288:
Ingram, Marie. “Lester Rowntree (1879-1979). Part One: The Peripatetic Gilbert White.” Hortus 8, no 3 (1994): 2–81.
264:
Barker, Philip A. “A Visit with Lester Rowntree.” American Horticultural Magazine 44. No 1 (January 1965): 32–35
89: 39: 313:
Pearce, F. Owen. “Lester Rowntree.” Bulletin of the Alpine Rock Garden Society 35, no 1 (Winter 1980): 13–19.
294:
Ingram, Marie. “Lester Rowntree (1879-1979). Part Three: A Spirit of Keen Joy.” Hortus 9, no 1 (1995) 69–87.
267:
Begg, Virginia Lopez. “As Thrilling as Any Western Romance.” Pacific Horticulture 55, no 2 (1994): 16–18.
250: 351: 346: 307:
O’Conner, Natalie G. “Plantsmen in Profile. XI: Lester Rowntree.” Baileya. 11, no. 2 (June 1963): 53.
155: 154:. Berkeley: Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library, University of California. pp.  226: 174: 222: 215: 27: 285:
Hamann, Skee. “The Wildflower Lover at Ninety-Seven.” Fremontia 3, no 4 (January 1976): 3–8
149: 93: 330: 31: 114:
Brandt, Cora (January 1955). "Lester Rowntree: Denizen of the Mountains".
282:
Hamann, Skee. “The Seed Collector.” The Countryman (Summer 1974): 160-162
23: 276:
Dutton, Joan Parry. Enjoying America's Gardens. New York: Reynal. 1958.
316:
Rowntree, Lester. "Lone Hunter." Atlantic Monthly. 1939 163. 809–16.
273:
Donlon, Rosemary. “Lester Rowntree.” Manzanita (Summer 1988): 8–9.
30:, was a pioneer in the study, propagation, and conservation of 16:
American botanist, botanical collector, taxonomist and explorer
221:. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. p.  173:. Berkeley, CA: University of California. p. 308. 171:
Hardy Californians: A Woman's Life with Native Plants
88:is used to indicate this person as the author when 214: 38:botanist, Rowntree has been compared favorably to 116:Journal of the California Horticultural Society 151:Lester Rowntree: California Native Plant Woman 194:Rowntree, Lester (June 1939). "Lone Hunter". 8: 106: 137:. New York: Reynnal. pp. 176–177. 7: 367:Women horticulturists and gardeners 14: 247:International Plant Names Index 22:(1879–1979), a renowned field 20:Lester Gertrude Ellen Rowntree 1: 217:The Landscaping Ideas of Jays 148:Levenson, Rosemary (1979). 133:Dutton, Joan Parry (1958). 383: 135:Enjoying America's Gardens 169:Rowntree, Lester (2006). 357:American women botanists 342:American horticulturists 213:Lowry, Judith (2007). 337:American naturalists 101:Notes and references 79:author abbreviation 362:American botanists 232:978-0-520-24164-0 374: 257: 256: 243: 237: 236: 220: 210: 204: 203: 196:Atlantic Monthly 191: 185: 184: 166: 160: 159: 145: 139: 138: 130: 124: 123: 111: 97: 87: 86: 85: 28:horticulturalist 382: 381: 377: 376: 375: 373: 372: 371: 327: 326: 261: 260: 245: 244: 240: 233: 212: 211: 207: 193: 192: 188: 181: 168: 167: 163: 147: 146: 142: 132: 131: 127: 113: 112: 108: 103: 98: 83: 82: 81: 76: 70: 57: 48: 17: 12: 11: 5: 380: 378: 370: 369: 364: 359: 354: 349: 344: 339: 329: 328: 325: 324: 321: 317: 314: 311: 308: 305: 302: 298: 295: 292: 289: 286: 283: 280: 277: 274: 271: 268: 265: 259: 258: 252: Rowntree 238: 231: 205: 186: 179: 161: 140: 125: 105: 104: 102: 99: 94:botanical name 75: 69: 66: 56: 53: 47: 44: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 379: 368: 365: 363: 360: 358: 355: 353: 350: 348: 345: 343: 340: 338: 335: 334: 332: 322: 318: 315: 312: 309: 306: 303: 299: 296: 293: 290: 287: 284: 281: 278: 275: 272: 269: 266: 263: 262: 254: 253: 248: 242: 239: 234: 228: 224: 219: 218: 209: 206: 201: 197: 190: 187: 182: 176: 172: 165: 162: 157: 153: 152: 144: 141: 136: 129: 126: 121: 117: 110: 107: 100: 95: 91: 80: 77:The standard 74: 67: 65: 61: 54: 52: 45: 43: 41: 40:David Douglas 35: 33: 29: 25: 21: 251: 241: 216: 208: 199: 195: 189: 170: 164: 150: 143: 134: 128: 119: 115: 109: 71: 62: 58: 49: 36: 19: 18: 352:1979 deaths 347:1879 births 301:xlvii-lxxiv 331:Categories 180:0520250516 122:(1): 8–17. 32:California 46:Biography 84:Rowntree 24:botanist 320:xv–xlvi 55:Writing 229:  202:: 809. 177:  90:citing 68:Legacy 227:ISBN 175:ISBN 26:and 200:163 156:344 333:: 249:. 225:. 223:78 198:. 120:14 118:. 92:a 255:. 235:. 183:. 158:. 96:.

Index

botanist
horticulturalist
California
David Douglas
author abbreviation
citing
botanical name
Lester Rowntree: California Native Plant Woman
344
ISBN
0520250516
The Landscaping Ideas of Jays
78
ISBN
978-0-520-24164-0
International Plant Names Index
 Rowntree
Categories
American naturalists
American horticulturists
1879 births
1979 deaths
American women botanists
American botanists
Women horticulturists and gardeners

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.

↑