In 1972, when the founder of the Victorian Garden brand, British registered aromatherapist and herbalist Lindsay Salthouse's mother, was handling her mother's estate, she discovered two gold-edged Victorian diaries, kept by Lindsay's great-grandmother, Frances Jane Glover-Anderson, a botanist born into an aristocratic family.

Her husband Stephen was a partner in the British East India Shipping Company and frequently travelled to East Asia. Many times, Frances Jane resided alone in her 42 roomed Scottish country home.  She taught her servants to cultivate a herb garden used for cooking, skincare products, decoration, and personal uses, documenting many recipes and details in her diaries.

For instance, "Today, I want to create my new product—honeysuckle day cream, pink mineral clay and geranium mask. My cooks are watching the double boiler, with the fragrance of beeswax and fresh petals constantly emanating from the steamer..." According to Lindsay's grandmother, her mother’s products were popular with the aristocracy and royalty.

Creating creams and lotions required considerable time and patience, involving the harvesting of dozens of different ingredients—fresh herbs and flowers, beeswax and essential oils. Stephen also brought back various plant extracts and essential oils from the East.

These products did not utilise preservatives, as the essential oils naturally served that purpose. Frances Jane's creations stemmed from her love for natural scents and textures. Her products were very popular, proving a good business opportunity if needed, but she was not a businesswoman. Her wealthy family and husband provided her with the freedom to perfect each formula with passion.

 
Annie and Lindsay Couch Photo.jpg__PID:c55a653c-0fbc-470b-8c42-2d8f64951be6
 In 1991, Lindsay introduced the first organic skincare salon and aromatherapy clinic in South Africa. Besides blending various body oils for treatments, she began replicating and passing on her great-grandmother's classic Victorian formulas a century later in her kitchen. These formulas were promptly introduced by Lindsay’s cousins in London, who hosted parties to gauge interest in the products, which sold quickly and were described by magazines as “delightfully old-fashioned.” Lindsay named them the "Victorian Garden Collection"—high-quality, extraordinary products unlike any available commercially. This collection carried forward ingredients frequently used in the Victorian era: Lavender, Rose, Chamomile, Rosemary, Neroli, Jasmine, Rosehip, And Geranium.
 

Our first product was from a recipe dating to 1870 and we named it "Rose and Chamomile Day Moisturiser Cream"; this was followed by Rose and Chamomile Flower Water (later to be named "Toning Freshener", Rosemary and Lavender Cleansing Milk and Avocado and Geranium Night Cream (later to be named Avocado and Pelargonium Night Cream). These products were used in the Phytotherapy Facial treatment from Lindsay's Organic Skincare Salon's bouquet of treatments.

Africa's plant diversity is vast, with plant usage ingrained in daily, medicinal, and beauty traditions, particularly in South Africa, known for its rich biodiversity, with over half of its species endemic! Lindsay and the subsequent professional internationally registered lab team spent significant time exploring nature reserves, national parks, and speaking to indigenous peoples (tribes) to learn about the diverse properties of various unique trees, shrubs, herbs, and flowers –precious medicinal and healing plant extracts passed down through generations.
 
In 2000 , The Victorian Garden began producing the “African Indigenous Collection” using ingredients unique to the continent, such as kalahari melon, cape aloe, sausage tree fruit, marula fruit, baobab fruit, olive, natal redwood, wild mint, and wild basil.
 
TVG _ Logo (RT).png__PID:24a30b5b-3311-4073-8625-9f18612f184f
 In 2005 , The Victorian Garden’s team visited Queen Anne Boleyn’s family home in Norfolk to research the Tudor era, inspiring the creation of the third series, the Royal Tudor Collection. This collection incorporated plant ingredients used during the 16TH century by royal ladies in their baths and for skincare. Ingredients such as Eyebright, Elderflower, Honeysuckle, Quince, Pomegranate, Rose, Sandalwood, And Valerian