Between the spring of 1910 and the spring of 1912, sixty-eight women planted as many young evergreen trees and holly bushes in a two-acre field on the outskirts of the heritage city of Bath, England. This property was owned by the pro-suffrage Blathwayt family, who named the field of trees the "suffragettes' wood" and also “Annie’s Arboretum,” after the working-class activist, Annie Kenney (1879-1953). The Blathwayts were inspired to create this unique work of landscape design through the courage of thousands of women of all classes who participated in the fight to gain political equality for women. During the height of militant suffrage activism, the Blathwayts' home, Eagle House became a frequent refuge for suffragettes who had survived force feeding, a form of political torture, in prison. Once their guests were strong enough to plant a tree in the arboretum on the hill behind Eagle House, the Blathwayts staged and photographed planting ceremonies, which can be viewed through www.bathintime.co.uk/suffragettes. Beautifully laid out with winding paths, floral borders and dedicatory plaques, the suffragettes' wood was a place where women could recover their health and renew their conviction in a private, protected space. Most importantly, the field of trees was a living memorial to what the suffrage activism had already accomplished, and what it was still hoped to achieve. Sitting or walking through the suffragettes' wood, women from all over England could gaze upon a space that would continue to grow into a future in which women would have political freedom and equality.

Today, only one tree remains from this unique work of feminist landscape design: a large Austrian Pine that can be seen from miles around. In the late 1960s the arboretum was destroyed to make way for a housing development, called Eagle Park. The Austrian Pine, planted by Rose Lamartine Yates (1875-1954) in October 1909, is located on private property and is thus completely inaccessible. As of October 2009, there was no public acknowledgement of the historic importance of this tree, nor that of Eagle Park, and what they represent.

In memory of the suffragettes, their landscape project and their political achievements, I created a public, community-based artwork in October 2009 entitled The Suffragettes' Orchard, using the word "orchard" to refer to the as-yet unrecognized 'fruit" of the suffragettes' labours on this particular site. In this piece, I approached the residents of Eagle Park, and offered them the gift of a young, evergreen shrub. In return, the recipients were asked to share their knowledge about the arboretum, and, in memory of the missing memorial, to plant or take care of the small bush. The exchanges that came out of these moments of interaction with the community became the basis for further research and writing. This work culminated in a public presentation at the conference, "More Than a Spa Resort" (http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/schools/humanities-and-cultural-industries/history/symposium.asp) Bath in April 2010. As a direct result of that presentation, the City of Bath has agreed to plant a commemorative Austrian Pine in Bath's Royal Victoria Park on International Women's Day, 2011. The images that follow document The Suffragettes' Orchard as undertaken in October 2009.

Special thanks to Mary Frayling, Colin Frayling, Jean and Morris Dawe, Trish Goodwin, Daniel Brown and Thomas Strickland for their assistance with this project.