Pamela Underwood (10 March 1910 – 1978), born Pamela Richenda Cubitt Montgomery-Cuninghame and later known as Mrs Desmond Underwood, was a British florist and nursery woman. She was an early enthusiast for

flower arranging Floral design or flower arrangement is the art of using plant materials and flowers to create an eye-catching and balanced composition or display. Evidence of refined floristry is found as far back as the culture of ancient Egypt. Professionally ...

and she wrote about "Grey and Silver Plants".

Personal life

Underwood was born in the townland of Ballyfair in 1910 in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

. Her parents were Alice Frances Denison des Voeux and Colonel

Sir Thomas Montgomery-Cuninghame, 10th Baronet Sir Thomas Andrew Alexander Montgomery-Cuninghame, 10th Baronet DSO (30 March 1877 – 5 January 1945) was a British Army officer and Distinguished Service Order recipient. Family life Montgomery-Cuninghame was born on 30 March 1877 in London, ...

and she had one older brother. Her mother was a daughter of Sir William Des Vœux and a great-granddaughter of

Sir Charles des Voeux, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Phillip Vinchon Des Voeux, 1st Baronet (died 24 August 1814) was an Irish politician. Des Voeux was the son of Martin Anthony Vinchon de Bacquencourt, who had assumed the surname of Des Voeux after leaving France to settle in Ireland ...

. Her parents divorced in 1925 and the same year her father married Nancy Macaulay Foggo of British Columbia, they had two sons. Her mother married the civil servant Sir Aubrey Symonds in 1926. She married Thomas Abdy Combe, an army officer, in 1932, they divorced in 1941. In 1942 she married Desmond FitzGerald Underwood (d.1968). After the death of her second husband she preferred to be known as "Mrs Desmond Underwood". She had a son and two daughters.

Career

Underwood was trained at the Cheshunt research station and began as a plant grower in the 1930s. She was originally a market gardener, growing mostly tomatoes, but later gradually changed the business to specialise in pink and silver foliage plants. She opened Ramparts nursery for pink and silver plants, at Braiswick, near Colchester. She became internationally known as a specialist in pinks and silver plans and exported her plants around the world, with buyers as far away as the United States, Japan and New Zealand. She served on Essex County council between 1955 and 1960. In the early 1950s she became interested in

. She was a founder member and chairman of Colchester Flower Club, the second flower arranging club in the country. She encouraged

Beth Chatto Beth Chatto (27 June 1923 – 13 May 2018) was an English plantswoman, garden designer and author known for creating and describing the Beth Chatto Gardens near Elmstead Market in the English county of Essex. She wrote several books about gard ...

, her neighbour and fellow founder member, to give demonstrations her flower arranging to other clubs, which founded her a new career. Underwood was an exhibitor at the

Chelsea Flower Show The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, formally known as the ''Great Spring Show'',Phil Clayton, ''The Great Temple Show'' in ''The Garden'' 2008, p.452, The Royal Horticultural Society is a garden show held for five days in May by the Royal Horticultural ...

for many years. At first some described her foliage plants as "weeds" but eventually she gained recognition and was awarded several medals, including two gold medals. In 1977, her last year of exhibiting, she won a silver gilt floral medal and was also awarded the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

. In the same year she planted a silver foliage garden at Buckingham Palace, for which she also supplied the plants, as a gift from the RHS to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. She retired from Ramparts in 1977 due to ill health, the business was taken over by Mr Jack Gingell of Chipping Ongar.

Writing

She wrote "Grey and Silver Plants" which was published in 1971 using the name of "Mrs Desmond Underwood".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underwood, Pamela 1910 births 1978 deaths Daughters of baronets Des Voeux family Montgomery-Cuninghame family People from County Kildare People from Colchester Irish horticulturists Councillors in Essex