a person who tends gardens; also a surname
from garden + -er suffix
A Gardner grows gardens - it's in the name!
Gardner historically appears as both male (e.g., architect James Gardner) and female (e.g., poet Isabella Gardner), but surname standardization in professional contexts has often defaulted to masculine assumptions. The occupational origin ('one who gardens') carries no inherent gender, yet institutional records frequently gendered-coded surnames.
Use Gardner neutrally as an occupational surname; note that historical documentation may have gendered individuals incorrectly. When referencing individuals, use stated pronouns.
Women gardeners and horticulturalists—from Liberty Hyde Bailey's female peers to modern women botanists—have been systematically underrecorded in garden design and landscape architecture.
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