Theodosia Burr Shepherd (1845-1906) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and pioneer in plant breeding known as the “Flower Wizard of California”. She is known for developing new varieties of flowers including cosmos, poppies, and begonias. The most famous being the ‘Heavenly Blue’ morning glory, and the ‘Golden West’ California Poppy.
For Further Reading:
- Ventura County Historical Society Quarterly Vol. 7-9: Theodosia Burr Shepherd, California’s Premiere Floriculturist
- Times Leader (Pennsylvania): ‘Women Who Do Things: Theodosia Burr Shepherd’
This month, we’re talking about cultivators — women who nurtured, cross-pollinated, experimented, or went to great lengths to better understand and protect the natural world.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, Vanessa Handy, Melia Agudelo, and Joia Putnoi. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Brittany Martinez.
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