Margaret Owen (plantswoman)

Margaret McAllister Owen MBE (née Mackay; 27 November 1930 – 24 October 2014) was a British farmer, gardener and heritage activist.

Margaret Owen

MBE
Showing her collection in 2013 in "Extraordinary Shropshire"
Born
Margaret McAllister Mackay

(1930-11-27)27 November 1930
Lea Farm, Watford
Died24 October 2014(2014-10-24) (aged 83)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Farmer, gardener
Known forcollections of plants: Camassia, Dictamnus, Galanthus, Nerine, Veratrum
Spouse(s)Godfrey Owen, (m. 9 October 1952, d. 1983)
Children4
AwardsVeitch Memorial Medal (2013)

Snowdrops

She collected, grew, arranged and exhibited plants, especially snowdrops, holding an annual snowdrop party in her Shropshire garden, The Patch, each year in February.[1] A snowdrop, Galanthus elwesii Margaret Owen was named after her.[2] She herself named a snowdrop after her husband, Galanthus elwesii Godfrey Owen.[3] This has two sets of six petals – inner and outer. This has made it especially popular, and it has been propagated by twin-scaling to make it widely available.[4]

National Collection

She was the holder of four types of plant for the National Collection: Camassia, Dictamnus, Nerine and Veratrum.[1] She bred new colour forms of camassias and pioneered nerines as a hardy plant in the UK.[5][6][7][8] She was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal in 2013.[9]

Shrewsbury heritage

Owen campaigned to save Rowley's House museum in Shrewsbury.[10][11] She also founded The Corbet Bed Embroiders Trust to create period hangings for the sixteenth-century Corbet Bed.[12][13][14] In 2010, she was awarded the honour of Most Excellent Order of the British Empire MBE, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences.[15] [16]

References
  1. "Margaret Owen – obituary", The Daily Telegraph, 8 November 2014, archived from the original on 6 October 2018
  2. "Galanthus elwesii 'Margaret Owen'", RHS Plant Finder, Royal Horticultural Society
  3. Byfield, Andy (27 February 2015), "Snowdrops: ten of the best", The Guardian, archived from the original on 6 April 2016
  4. Andy Byfield (27 February 2015), "Snowdrops: ten of the best – Godfrey Owen", The Guardian
  5. Bourne, Val (22 April 2010), "Camassias like it wet", The Oxford Times, archived from the original on 18 October 2018
  6. "Camassia", Plant Heritage, retrieved 17 October 2018
  7. Buchan, Ursula (18 June 2008). "Traditional virtues". The Spectator. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  8. Mark Heath (5 October 2018), Gardeners' World, BBC
  9. "RHS President presents 33 honours at RHS Awards Ceremony", Royal Horticultural Society, RHS, archived from the original on 20 December 2016
  10. Steel, Patrick (2006), "Shrewsbury faces the closure of its museum until 2009", Museums Journal, archived from the original on 18 October 2018
  11. "Win claimed in museum fight", Shropshire Star, 22 November 2006, retrieved 17 October 2018
  12. "Corbet Bed Embroiderers Trust", Open Charities, archived from the original on 18 October 2018
  13. "Lord Lieutenant marks end of bed project", Shropshire Star, 7 March 2010, archived from the original on 18 October 2018
  14. Boyd, Peter (16 July 2003), "Corbet Bed 1593", Darwin Country, Shrewsbury Museums Service
  15. Charity fundraiser's MBE honour, BBC News, 31 December 2009
  16. "County people rewarded in Queen's honours", Shropshire Star, 31 December 2009, archived from the original on 18 October 2018
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