My Lady's Garden - an Edwardian circular horticultural card game

In 1906, Florence Annie Barker of "The Oaks", Huddersfield Road, Mirfield, Yorks patented a game of gardens and gardeners. Six suits of 7 cards each, for Flower, Fruit, Herb, Vegetable, Fern, and Tree. In each suit there was one card for the gardener whose concern the plants were:

My Lady's Garden, the cards

There was also a Storm card, as a form of destructive wild card:

The Storm card

The patent is devoid of illustrations, and even lacks a list of suitable plants. To realise the game, we had to not only illustrate the cards, we had to choose what plants to put on them! That meant finding out not only what plants might grow in Mirfield, but also what plants were in fact grown there in Edwardian times, and were available from seed suppliers in the area. The area being inhospitable to a lot of the gaudier flowers, we had to find those that grew there that had recognisable foliage and flowers.

Of those, we had to find plants for which a suitable, and compatible, illustration was to be found! We used herbals, catalogues, horticultural works and herbarium publications, but tried to keep the illustrations from the same source to make a common feel for each suit.

For the gardener cards, the only illustrations to be had were poor, and were generally of old men. To make the game relevant to the modern players, we chose to draw a series of tools, to serve as metonyms for the gardeners. They are also more in keeping with the other illustrations.

For the Storm card, we used a barometer pointing to a storm, again as a metonym, since there were no pleasing storm illustrations to be had.

The final set is a delight of Edwardian illustrations. For the instructions on how to play the game, see below here. It is, as Ms Barker said, designed so that according to the rules under which the game is played an interesting and attractive form of amusement is provided for young and old.

For the Fern suit, we chose Lady Fern, Ostrich Fern, Autumn Fern, Maidenhair Fern, Hare's Tongue, and Royal Fern:

The Fern suit

For the Flower suit, we chose Geranium, Sunflower, Yellow Rose, Slipper Flower, Tiger Lily, and Gillyflower:

The Flower suit

For the Fruit suit, we chose Elder, Rowan, Blackberry, Strawberry, Pear, and Quince:

The Fruit suit

For the Herb suit, we chose Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Apple Mint, Lavender, and Parsley:

The Herb suit

For the Tree suit, we chose Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Oak, Beech, Holly, and Scots Pine:

The Tree suit

For the Vegetable suit, we chose Potato, Carrot, Tomato, Field Pea, Red Cabbage, and Beetroot:

The Vegetable suit

If you wish to purchase a pack, printed-on-demand, they are available at Make Playing Cards here.

Her patent is available to be seen at Espace here.

So who was Florence Barker?

Florence Annie Barker (nee Rees, 1857-1911) was, unusually for game inventors, and also for women of the time, a serial inventor. She also invented a doll to be stuffed with herbs, and a game of bells where the aim is to avoid playing out of harmony.

She married a wool broker, and had three children, which may be why she made these games, and who knows how many others besides.

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The Game of My Lady's Garden

This is the game, according to the patent:

My Lady’s Garden

Separate the “gardener” cards from the pack, well shuffle, and deal one to each player (when less than 6 persons are playing only use a corresponding number of these cards to the number of players). When so dealt, these cards are immediately turned face upwards on the table. Each player will then know which suit or group he or she has to collect. For instance, the player having the “flower gardener” card must collect the group representing flowers; the one having the “vegetable gardener” collects the vegetable group, and so on.

The remaining cards (including the storm card) are then dealt out (all the cards if there are 6 players, or only the number of each suit corresponding to the number of players, if less than six). Each player then takes up his or her hand with the exception of the “gardener” card, and places upon the table face upwards beside the “gardener” card all those he has belonging to the set he is to collect. The rest of the cards, and not belonging to the set, must be retained in the hand and passed on to the player on the left who draws one and if similar to the set he is collecting places it on the table with his collection, or if not retains it in his hand and offers to the player on his left.

The first player who completes his set without the “storm” card is to be adjudged the winner, or the game can be continued until all the players have in turn completed their gardens and the player who holds the “storm” card at the last will be the loser.

The “storm” card as the game proceeds causes general interest and excitement, as the possessor of the card, immediately it is dealt to him, must inform the rest of the players (a storm rattle may be provided for this purpose) and must not place upon the table any cards belonging to the set which he is collecting, but must pass on with all cards in his hand; to the player on his left. The player drawing the “storm” card from his neighbour must immediately proclaim the fact and take all the cards he has previously collected from the table and pass them with the others in his hand. When the “storm” card is passed on the former holder may replace the cards he holds of the set he is collecting upon the table, but he will probably find the number has been reduced by passing.

Here is an illustration of the game in play