

[ | l lll!!!g!!I!M I I]lilM 



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lilliMiirmiyiii' 



Jlomsts' 



RIVVIEW^ 





J]7lfmiTiril 



THE MOST FAMOUS 



WOMAN FLORIST 



Probably no one is belter hnonn in the Inuh' in Boston and New England 

 than Mrs. Gill, of Medford, Massaehaselts'' most famous noman florist. For 

 more than fifty years she grew fl oners. Non\ at 87 years of age, she is eon fined 

 to her home, but is none the less interested in the florists" business. 



if 



HAT tlio oroatcst measure 

 of success coincs to liiui 

 wlio is in love Avith liis 

 Avork is exemplified in the 

 career of Mrs. Ellen M. 



Cill, of Meaford, Mass. 



L^— V Fur more than forty-five 



I r^V^ years Mrs. Gill {jrevv 

 [.. "-^ — II ilowers for the Med ford 

 and lioston markets. Now, 

 ,'t!i iioufjli confined to lier room l)y the 

 iiitiimities of age — she "vvas 87 years old 

 .^■.l'.H■ L'S — Mrs. Gill still is intensely 

 iiii.'ifstcil in the florists' profession and 

 .nMiideiitly ex])ects that she will recover 

 li r strength sufliciently to again visit 

 ll.'iticultural hall. Boston, where she 

 V.I- a regular exhibitor for half a cen- 



rrol>ably no one interested in the 

 uiiiuing of flowers and 

 pliiiits and in the socie- 

 f:i^ that are promoting 

 III luoduction of good 

 s'.ick, is better known 

 ]': Jjoston and New 

 i:riulaii<l than Mrs. 

 I'M. J'.eginniug as an 

 ;iiii:itenr in ISliO, her 

 -!• ■CSS with flowers 

 ^■ 1- so great that she 

 _'i.idually enlarged her 

 .I'tivities until 1870, 

 .\ tif'u she built the first 

 '■'■ licr four greenhouses 

 ; Medford and l)egau 

 ' urow for the market. 



First with Freesias. 



'drs. Gill is said to 



' *'• been the first 



■wer to supply the 



-ton market with 



' sias. She also Avas 



"iig tlu^ first to pro- 



A' violets indoors 



d in coltU'ramcs, 



irli stock she sold to 



-ton r tail e r s. 



• > ■•l(ii>s a])]iealcd to 



' -. Gill and many va- 



'i(s of new stock 



' ajiprarcd in the 



-lun s t o r I' s came 



'u her greenhouses. 



~^ach was her success 



a pioneer grower 



I exhibitor that on 



I h her seventieth and 



g li t i e t li l)irthdnys 



< Massachusetts 



'oticultural Society 



ive receptions in her 



nor and on the latter 



ite she was made a 



' e member. She also 



lias been (dcctc.l an honorai'y mend)er of 

 the Gardeners', and Florists' Club of 

 Boston, and of the Ladies' Society of 

 American J'iorists. 



A Native Bostonian. 



Mrs. Gill was born in Boston June 28, 

 18;!(i, a member of the Bowditch family, 

 which traced its ancestry from .lolm Al- 

 deu and ]{iidiard Warren of the May- 

 flower tim(>. In lHi9, when shi> was 19 

 years old, she married George Gill. 

 They began tlieir married life at Mel- 

 rose anil moved to Medfonl in l^.'il. It 

 Avas there that her natural ability to 

 grow flow.'rs first had an opportunity to 

 express itsidf and when, in 1 .SCiO, she 

 and lier Imsband juindiased what is now 

 the family lionie and ^reenlidusi' range 

 at 28 Ashland strt'et, tliat opi'iotunity 



Mrs. Ellen M. GUI, America's First Woman Florist. 



became gi'eater and slie iin{>rov<}d it. 

 \\i a short time tlie liaifacre of 

 ground aliout this home became noted 

 for its flower gardens. W-nv after year 

 ^I rs. Gill gained greater fam(> as a 

 grower and in ISO;" she was admitted to 

 iiH'nibersIiip in the Massachusetts Horti- 

 cultural Society and sent some of the 

 jiroducts of her garden to the society's 

 exhibitions. 



It was to enable lier to ^rou higher 

 cla><-< stock that, in I87l», Mr.-. Cill jjuilt 

 tlie fii>t of the four greenhouses u])on 

 her placi'. 'i'liat, too, \vas the be^itming 

 ol' lur long career as a commercial 

 grower. 



After e\]ierimentin<; with a\ hat was 

 at that time evi)ensive stock, Mrs. (lill 

 disco\(Tcd that ci.inniercial success lay 

 in speciali/at ion in .-tock th;it Avas in 

 ijemand. She threw 

 out lier mixed stock 

 of -tephanotis, alla- 

 iiian.ja, lajiageria and 

 other plants of a like 

 (diaracter and began to 

 ^ro\\ roses, caiiiations 

 anil callas. A'Jolets, 

 too, !Mrs. Gill dis- 

 (■ o \' e r e d, could be 

 i:ro\\n at a j'rofit, al- 

 t hoii;^h 1' (• \\- florists 

 grew til em at that 

 time. 



Boston's Best Violets. 



Mrs. (111! delights in 

 telling anecdotes re- 

 garding her early ca- 

 reer ,'is a |irol'(>ssional 

 grower. .\ neighbor, 

 seeking' \ iolets in a 

 Boston stori-. remarked 

 that she could not buy 

 1 he llow ( Ts ill lier home 

 tuwii ot' Medford. 



■'Mad a m,' ' replied 

 tlie tlorist, "the best 

 \iolcts r sidl come 

 from Mrs. Cill. of 



Medl'ord." 



.\ n o t h !• r time a 

 iiei'^hbor r e ni a r k o d 

 that she had sei'U an 

 odd flower ill ;i w indow 

 in l!o-toii ;iii.i sug- 

 gested to Mrs. (lill that 

 she ought to see it and 

 adil it to her collection. 

 Mrs. (iill had the satis- 

 faction ot' telling the 

 ludghbof that she was 

 the first to j,M-ow the 

 flower for the Boston 

 market ;ind had sold 

 the stock described to 



