Olive Edmundson

Olive Mary Edmundson (née Harrisson) (1881 - 1972) was a British horticulturalist who was denied a scholarship at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden in 1898.

Her parents were Henry and Louis Ann Harrisson.[1] Harrisson attended Swanley Horticultural College. She was awarded the highest number of marks in the Royal Horticultural Society Certificate in Practical Horticulture.[2][3] The prize was to work in the Royal Horticultural Society garden in Chiswick, £5,000 and a scholarship.[4] Her success was rejected by the Royal Horticultural Society, who only accepted men at the time.[5] This was despite women making up half of the top candidates.[3] Harrisson was supported by Reverend William Wilks, then secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society.[5] She was presented with a medal to recognise her efforts, which she kept throughout her life.[2] She went on to work as a professional gardener.[2]

In 1901 she was employed by the Cadbury family at Northfield Manor House.[2] She married Herbert Watson Edmundson, an electrical engineer, on 25 May 1904.[1][6] She looked after her daughter's garden that was in the grounds of a Friends meeting house in Settle, West Riding of Yorkshire.[2] Her story emerged after a researcher at the Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library discovered a document in the archives.[4] The story was covered by the BBC, and listeners identified who the document was discussing.[2]

Edmundson died in 1972 in Settle.[2]