Her parents were Alice Frances Denison des Voeux and Colonel Sir Thomas Montgomery-Cuninghame, 10th Baronet and she had one older brother.
Her parents divorced in 1925 and the same year her father married Nancy Macaulay Foggo of British Columbia, they had two sons.
She was originally a market gardener, growing mostly tomatoes, but later gradually changed the business to specialise in pink and silver foliage plants.
[6] She became internationally known as a specialist in pinks and silver plans and exported her plants around the world, with buyers as far away as the United States, Japan and New Zealand.
[7] She encouraged Beth Chatto, her neighbour and fellow founder member, to give demonstrations her flower arranging to other clubs, which founded her a new career.