Ellen Willmott

Ellen Ann Willmott (19 August 1858 – 27 September 1934) was an English horticulturist. She was an influential member of the Royal Horticultural Society, and a recipient of the first Victoria Medal of Honour, awarded to British horticulturists living in the UK by the society, in 1897. Willmott was said to have cultivated more than 100,000 species and cultivars of plants and sponsored expeditions to discover new species. More than 60 plants have been named after her or her home, Warley Place.

In 1875, the family moved to Warley Place at Great Warley, Essex,

Willmott received a substantial inheritance from her godmother, another keen gardener, Countess Helen Tasker of Middleton Hall, Brentwood, who died in 1888. This enabled her to buy her first property near Aix-les-Bains, France, in 1890.

Horticultural career Ceratostigma willmottianum, one of over 60 species named after Ellen Willmott or Warley Place.

Willmott inherited Warley Place on her father's death and continued to develop the gardens, indulging her passion for collecting and cultivating plants. She is thought to have cultivated more than 100,000 different plant species and cultivars. Over fifty plant species or varieties were named for her and her gardens.

Willmott joined the Royal Horticultural Society in 1894 and became a prominent member, elected to the narcissus and tulip committee in 1896, as well as floral (group B) and lily committees. and was appointed a trustee of the RHS Gardens in 1903.

She published two books; Warley Garden in Spring and Summer in 1909 published in two volumes between 1910 and 1914. The book only sold 260 copies, leaving her in debt. Queen Mary, Queen Alexandra (to whom The Genus Rosa was dedicated) and Princess Victoria are known to have visited her at Warley Place. In 1914 she initiated a bitter public spat with the horticulturalist E.A. Bowles about some observations on rock gardens made by Reginald Farrer in his foreword to one of Bowles' books. Bowles eventually patched up the row by inviting Willmott to his garden at Myddelton House.

Other interests In addition to her career in horticulture, Willmott also had other, lesser known accomplishments in particular photography and ornamental turning.

Later life Willmott's prodigious spending during her lifetime caused financial difficulties in later life, forcing her to sell her French and Italian properties, and eventually her personal possessions.

Willmott died of atheroma and embolus of the coronary artery in 1934, aged 76. was sold to pay her debts and the house was demolished in 1939, although plans to develop a housing estate on the site were rejected. It was later designated as a green belt and became a nature reserve overseen by the Essex Wildlife Trust. The remainder is in the care of the Warley Place Management Committee and maintained as an abandoned garden.