Artist, horticulturalist, and also one of the first science-fiction writers, Jane Webb Loudon (British, 1807 – 1858) created the genre of popular gardening manuals, helping to make gardening an acceptable occupation for women in suburbia. She painted these beautiful floral botanical illustrations, and many others. A collection of these gardening manuals goes to auction at Sotheby’s, New York, this week, 26 October 2017, with an estimate of 7,000 — 10,000 USD.