Theresa Earle

(Maria) Theresa Earle born (Maria) Theresa Villiers writing as Mrs C. W. Earle (8 June 1836 – 27 February 1925) was a British horticulturist. She published three Pot-Pourri gardening guides starting in 1897.

Life

Earle was born in 1836 in London into the Villiers family. She was invited to serve at Queen Victoria's court but refused in 1856. Her family gave her the nickname of "Radical Theresa".

In 1897 her gardening guide Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden was published. She had been encouraged to write this by friends and had been supported by her niece Constance Lytton who typed some of the text.

In 1899 she published "More Pot-pourri from a Surrey Garden" which was by "Mrs. C.W. Earle". There were eventually three Pot-purri books and they were said to be the model for the early books of Gertrude Jekyll. Jekyll became a friend of hers. There were no more of her own gardening books but she collaborated with Ethel Case on two others. Her last two books were about her family history and her biography.

Vegetarianism

Earle was a vegetarian. She advocated a vegetarian diet in her book Diet Difficulties with Notes on Growing Vegetables, published in 1908. Earle promoted a fruit and vegetable diet in which coffee and tea are forbidden.

Earle was influenced by Alexander Haig's dietary theories. Her book A Third Pot-Pourri (1903) covered diet, health and vegetarianism. Adela Curtis, who taught meditation and was also a vegetarian assisted in preparing the book.

Selected publications

Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden (With an appendix by Lady Constance Lytton, 1898) More Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden (1900) A Third Pot-Pourri (1903) Diet Difficulties with Notes on Growing Vegetables (with Mrs. Hugh Bryan, 1908) Gardening for the Ignorant (with Miss Ethel Case, 1912) Pot-Pourri Mixed by Two (with Miss Ethel Case, 1914)