Call Number:

Wertsner

Repository:

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

Extent:

1.0 linear feet (2 containers)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box and folder number], Anne Wertsner Wood slide collection, 1940-1983, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society McLean Library.

Date:

1940-1960 (bulk) and 1940-1983 (inclusive)

Creator:

Wood, Anne Wertsner, 1907-2004

Form:

Slides (photographs) and Lecture notes

Abstract:

Anne Wertsner Wood (1907-2004) was a horticulturist, writer and lecturer from the Philadelphia area. She was an active leader in the gardening community at the local, national, and international levels. She is recognized for her participation in numerous flower shows, garden creations, outreach activities, writings and lectures. This collection contains slides compiled and used by Anne Wertsner Wood. There are two boxes of color photographic slides that date from 1940 to 1983, with the bulk of slides dating from 1940 to 1960. The slides document Wertsner’s travels to various local and international gardens, her involvement with the Philadelphia Flower Show, and her involvement in community activities.

Anne Wertsner Wood (1907-2004) was a horticulturist, writer and lecturer from the Philadelphia area. She was an active leader in the gardening community at the local, national, and international levels. She is recognized for her participation in numerous flower shows, garden creations, outreach activities, writings and lectures.

Anne was a graduate of the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women (now the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture of Temple University Ambler) and she also studied at Cornell University and Pennsylvania State University. After graduating from the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture, she helped create Richard Houghton’s famous rock garden in Paoli, Pennsylvania. She later headed the floriculture department at the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women; she was in charge of the gardens and greenhouses and also taught horticultural subjects for six years in the 1930s. In 1949, she married a widower with two children, Harry Wood, who was horticulturist and grounds superintendent at Swarthmore College. They lived together in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.

Anne Wertsner Wood brought her education and experience to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Philadelphia Flower Show. Anne spent sixteen years at the Society as a field secretary, advising neighborhood gardeners on garden maintenance and planning. She was responsible for staging the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s flower shows and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society‘s displays in the Philadelphia Flower Show. She also served as a judge at various flower shows. She wrote of her experience with flower shows in her book “The Flower Show Guide,“ which covered staging, exhibiting and judging.

Anne travelled both nationally and internationally, bringing her knowledge of horticulture with her when she travelled. In 1957 and 1959 she led Garden Tours to Europe for the Montclair Travel Bureau of Montclair, New Jersey. From 1958 to 1988 she conducted garden tours while travelling throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe and lectured on gardening and flower arranging.

Anne was an avid writer on gardening. Aside from her book “The Flower Show Guide,” Anne also wrote numerous articles on gardening for magazines and newspapers such as The Home Garden, Ladies’ Home Journal and Popular Gardening. She also wrote on the subject of Christmas, especially decorating for the holiday. She published the book “Make Your Own Merry Christmas (1946),” which provided instructions for making handmade Christmas decorations.

After her husband, Harry Wood, passed away in 1971, Anne moved from their Swarthmore home to Lima Estates in Lima, Pennsylvania. She lived the rest of her life there, where she continued with her gardening by planting a tree outside her apartment. She died in 2004.

During her lifetime, Anne made great contributions to gardening and horticulture and also received awards and recognition from numerous groups and organizations, including the Men’s Garden Club of New York, the International Horticultural Exhibition, the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania, and the Garden Club of America.

This collection houses slides compiled and used by Anne Wertsner Wood of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. There are two boxes of color slides that date from 1940 to 1983, with the bulk of slides dating from 1940 to 1960. The slides document Wertsner’s travels to various local and international gardens, her involvement with the Philadelphia Flower Show, and her involvement in community activities such as Victory Garden planting and the groundbreaking of the Azalea Garden in Philadelphia. The slides also document her horticulture lectures and many various plants species.

The slides are arranged in alphabetical order according to subject; most of the individual slides have handwritten titles and dates included on their frames (probably written by Wertsner). General subjects include flower shows, gardens, individual plants, lecture materials, people and places.

Earlier slides within this collection contain subjects reflecting Wertsner’s involvement with horticulture lectures, Christmas decorations, garden planning, and travels to and tours of gardens in the Philadelphia area, other parts of the United States and Europe. Many of the gardens featured in the earlier slides include those of prominent Philadelphia figures, including Judge and Mrs. Owen J. Roberts, the DuPonts at the Longwood Estate, Dr. George Woodward of Chestnut Hill, and Joseph A. Widener of Elkins Park. Slides from later years focus on advocacy and community outreach, and were likely used in her lectures. Images depict various plant species, people involved in the gardening community, and garden and plant related travels.

The slides in this collection would be especially useful for studies of horticultural societies, local history, and grassroots involvement of individuals in the gardening community.