Gender and Gardening - A Taste for Gardening: Classed and Gendered Practices - page 142

now you do feel that somebody's saying, “so and so 'an 't' done their garden - look at that
in there, oh so and so..”'
Stephanie recognises the comedy inherent in identifying with Hyacinth's position,
but more importantly, Hyacinth's character offers her a means to express her own
doubts and fears about not getting the garden 'exactly right' for the scrutinising gaze
of local passers-by.
It was not always the case that I managed to interview couples together. Several
of the interviews include only one half of the partnership, or where partners had
separated or died the remaining partner was able to speak about gardening both
with and without their partner. In these cases, the gendered locations of absent
partners were represented by those who were available to speak. James a retired ex-
professional head gardener, worked for 25 years in private service for two wealthy
industrialists before running a floristry business in partnership with his wife Joyce.
Since Joyce had considerable experience as a florist, it seemed somewhat unusual
that she played no part in the large domestic garden the couple owned. James did
offer an explanation as to Joyce's lack of involvement in the garden: she 'hated
gardening', hated what he called, 'finger work', had arthritis and he told me, 'she's
not a strong person'. For James, more than for any of my other respondents, physical
strength was an important credential for being able to garden.
As a teenager James decided he didn't want to follow his father and work in the
local mill. But his medical condition, epilepsy, prevented him from realising his
aspirations to become a joiner. But epilepsy had also closed off another possibility
- it meant that James was prevented from joining the army:
James : I had to have a soft option which was gardening. That was the only thing they
could put me to. It's been one of the hardest jobs, probably, is gardening.
James's illness had effectively foreclosed the possibility that he might pursue a truly
masculine career path, interestingly here he follows his description of gardening
as a 'soft option' with the assertion that it is, 'one of the hardest jobs.' Throughout
the two interviews I conducted with James the idea that gardening is hard physical
labour was central to his sense of what gardening means, indeed I got the distinct
impression that James thought that gardening was unsuitable for women. He had
experienced working alongside women who were employed on a casual basis at
one of the nurseries he had contracted out to while running the floristry. Their work
had been 'pricking out' (a term which probably relates back to his use of the term
'finger work' above), they, 'didn't fill barrels'. Interestingly while talking about
these 'ladies' he turned the conversation immediately back to his wife, 'and neither',
he said 'could Joyce. I wouldn't expect her to, she hasn't got the strength for it.' It
was as though the idea that gardening might be a 'soft option' could be held at bay
as long as it was conceived as hard, physical labour. Keeping women out of the
physical aspects of gardening acted as a means to re-enforce its meaning as a tough
and specifically masculine profession. Indeed this might explain why it had been
decided that Joyce stay out of gardening altogether, particularly through her choice
to reject the 'finger work' that might have been available for her to contribute. Joyce's
involvement might well have led to a de-valuation of James's lifelong construction