Caroline Dorman
You May Already Know Her, Especially in Louisiana
Once again, I’m bringing you a Lost Lady of Garden Writing whom you may already know of or at least have heard of.
Meet Caroline "Carrie" Coroneos Dormon.
I first learned about her while reading letters and books by Elizabeth Lawrence, who I wrote about two weeks ago. Elizabeth and Caroline, who was called Carrie, wrote many letters back and forth and Caroline even dedicated one of her books to Elizabeth.
Her Biography
I didn’t need to dive into Ancestry or look for old newspaper clippings to find Caroline Dormon’s biography. Her life is well-documented in Heroines of Horticulture: A Celebration of Women Who Shaped North America’s Gardening Heritage by Stefan White (2024) and online in this excellent article in Country Roads Magazine.1
If I owned a copy, I could also read all about her in The Gift of the Wild Things: The Life of Caroline Dorman by Fran Holman.
My short version of her biography is that Caroline was born July 19, 1888, one of eight children. After graduating from Judson College with a degree in art and literature, she taught in public schools before returning to her childhood summer home, Briarwood, in 1918, where she and her sister lived together in a log cabin.
That’s when she turned her attention to a wide-range of interests related to nature, gardening, garden design, forestry, iris hybridization, and the preservation of native plants and natural landscapes, in spite of health issues and financial struggles. Her positive impact in all those areas was far-reaching.
Upon her death on November 21, 1971, she donated her property to become a nature preserve.
Her Books
Caroline wrote several books, many of which she also illustrated. They included:
Wild Flowers of Louisiana (1934)
Forest Trees of Louisiana (1941)
Natives Preferred (1965), which she dedicated to Elizabeth Lawrence
Southern Indian Boy (1967)
Bird Talk (1969)
I’ve hyperlinked those that can be read online via archive.org. Note, she was writing about using native plants way back in 1965!
Books About Her
As mentioned above, Fran Holman wrote a biography of Caroline, The Gift of the Wild Things: The Life of Caroline Dorman. She also edited a book of her articles, Adventures in Wild Flowers: The Timeless Writings of Caroline Dormon, which I want to read as soon as I can get a copy of it.
You can also listen to a podcast episode with Fran talking about Caroline. There’s a part 1 and a part 2. They are well worth listening to.
My Encounter With Caroline At Longue Vue House & Garden
Several years ago, I visited Longue Vue while in New Orleans visiting family. I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded of Caroline Dormon while there.
First was the reminder of Caroline’s irises.
Then I discovered this sign with info about how Caroline worked for the Stern family, original owners of Longue Vue, in designing and planting the gardens. That $600 she was paid as an annual retainer would be close to $9,000 today. And the $25 per day would be about $380 today.
There was also a sign with information about her work as an employee of the US Forest Service.
I hope this brief glimpse into the life of Caroline Dorman captures your interest, enough that you will read the article I linked to and listen, as I did, to the podcast episodes about her.
And if you’d like to read more of Caroline’s writings, you can purchase a copy of Adventures in Wild Flowers: The Timeless Writings of Caroline Dormon, edited by Fran Holman, via the Briarwood Nature Preserve. I just purchased it for myself and look forward to reading it as soon as it arrives.
Quotable
In her book, Natives Preferred, Caroline wrote:
“The question may be asked, why use native plants? The logical answer to this is, why not? If a tree or flower is beautiful, easy to grow, and fits into the landscape, it is the best plant for that location. First, and most important, such species are adaptable to local conditions. Second, by using native plants, gardens and public grounds can display the typical beauty of each region.”
That’s as true today as it was when Caroline wrote it in 1965.
Who’s Next?
There’s one other writer who corresponded regularly with Elizabeth Lawrence who might be the next Lost Lady of Garden Writing. Can you guess who she might be? Or maybe between now and when that next article is published on July 7, 2026, I’ll have found someone else who I just couldn’t resist researching.
Seriously, read the article in Country Roads Magazine to learn more about Caroline Dormon.
Wow. What a woman!!! That photograph of her caught my eye this morning in my feed and I'm so glad I read this excellent article. Thank you so much, Carol!
What a wonderful Nature woman!