Valerie Finnis

Valerie Finnis (1924-2006) was a well known British photographer and gardener^[1]. She was born in Crowborough, Sussex, daughter of a naval officer, Steriker Finnis, and gardener Constance Finnis. She attended Hayes Court school in Kent and Downe House school in Berkshire. In 1968 she met retired diplomat and plantsman David Scott who she married in 1970 and with whom she lived, gardening together until his death in 1986. In 1990 she set up the Merlin Trust, named after David Scott's son Merlin who was killed in the second world war, aged 22. The Merlin Trust assists young horticulturists to travel and gain experience.

Waterperry

For 28 years Valerie Finnis was associated with Waterperry Horticultural School for Women, at Waterperry House, situated just outside Oxford. She first went to Waterperry in 1942, aged 18, at which time it was run by Beatrix Havergal, and helped make it a famous horticultural institution.

Awards

She was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour in 1975 by the Royal Horticultural Society.

References

1. ^ Ursula Buchan and Anna Pavord (2007) Garden People: Valerie Finnis and the Golden Age of Gardening. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0500513538, ISBN 978-0500513538

External links

• Obituary in Guardian newspaper
• Website of the Merlin Trust

Bibliography

Books written or illustrated by Valerie Finnis

• Collins Guide to Alpines (1964) by Anna Nellie Griffith (author), photographs by Valerie Finnis. Collins, UK.
• Wild Flowers of Greece (1965) by Kaity Argyropoulo, illustrated by Valerie Finnis. Athens Society of the Friends of the Trees.
• The Oxford Book of Garden Flowers (1968) by E.B. Anderson, Margery Fish, A.P. Balfour, Michael Wallis and Valerie Finnis, illustrated by B.E. Nicholson. Oxford Univ Press.
• Garden People: The Photographs of Valerie Finnis (2007) by Ursula Buchan (author), photographs by Valerie Finnis. Thames and Hudson, UK.