Reiss was born in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. Her parents were Edith Hamilton (born Crake) and Colonel Alfred George Lucas. Her father had been in the army[1] and he served as High Sheriff of Suffolk in 1904[2] and well as a mayor of Lowestoft.[1]
They had a substantial home at Dowdeswell Manor in the Cotswolds near to Hidcote Manor Gardens.[3]
In 1933 Reiss and her husband, Capt. F. E. Reiss, bought Tintinhull House and Garden.[4]
The garden layout had been developed by Dr. Price who had created triangular and diamond-shaped flagstone paths and ornamental domes of box were planted in the 1920s.[5]
The existing early landscaping was expanded by Reiss starting in 1933 in an Arts and Crafts "Hidcote" style.[6] The 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) garden was separated into "rooms" by yew hedges and walls.[7] The different areas included Eagle Court, Middle Garden, Fountain Garden and Pool Garden.[6] The pool garden was their only additional area[8] and it was created on the site of a former tennis court.[5] This pool garden was a memorial to a nephew who had lost his life during the war above Malta.[8] A painting of him, Michael Lucas, is at Tintinhull.[9]
In 1954 Reiss gave the house and garden to the National Trust, but she continued to live in the house and care for the garden.
