Gertrude Farrington (1914- ) is an avid gardener and longtime member of the Ridgefield Garden Club in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Farrington contributed to the restoration and upkeep of the gardens at the public Ballard Park in Ridgefield, the former estate of Elizabeth Biglow Ballard. Farrington maintained a diary from 1978-1992. In it, she recorded her daily activities in Ballard Park and her own garden, her activities with husband Wes Farrington, the national and global events she saw on the news, and the daily temperature at her home. 

This collection demonstrates how artifacts from across the Smithsonian Institution echo quotes from Farrington's diary, and how one woman participated in American civic life in the late twentieth century. Click on the "Info/Text" button for each artifact to read relevant quotes from Farrington's diary. Read transcripts of Farrington's full diary here. 

#HorticultureHERstory is a project to create digital stories that amplify the contributions of American women to the history of landscape, garden design, and horticulture using Smithsonian Gardens and Smithsonian Institution collections.   This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative. #BecauseOfHerStory