Pamela Underwood

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.^[6] 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.^[5]

She served on Essex County council between 1955 and 1960.

In the early 1950s she became interested in flower arranging. She was a founder member and chairman of Colchester Flower Club, the second flower arranging club in the country.^[7] She encouraged Beth Chatto, her neighbour and fellow founder member, to give demonstrations her flower arranging to other clubs, which founded her a new career.^[8]

Underwood was an exhibitor at the Chelsea Flower Show 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's Victoria Medal of Honour.^[6][8] 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.^[8]

She retired from Ramparts in 1977 due to ill health, and the business was taken over by Jack Gingell of Chipping Ongar.^[5]

She wrote Grey and Silver Plants which was published in 1971 using the name of "Mrs Desmond Underwood".^[9]