She graduated from Wellesley College in 1924 and then continued her studies informally while traveling around Europe and East Asia.

[1] In 1937, she opened her own practice in Washington, D.C., which she ran for five years while also doing freelance drafting work for other firms around town.

During the 1950s, Parker's husband was stationed in Central America, and she accompanied him there, living in Nicaragua and Guatemala, where she collected orchids.

[1] She created the original plan for a garden for U.S. Secretary of State Christian Herter, later expanded on by landscape architect Perry Hunt Wheeler.

She was also a member of Society of Woman Geographers (SWG) and the Garden Club of America, which honored her with its Medal of Merit.