Theodosia Burr Shepherd (October 14, 1845, Keosauqua, Iowa – September 6, 1906, Ventura, California) was an American botanist, horticulturist and pioneer in plant breeding.

The location of her former garden is listed as number 34 in the City of Ventura Historic Landmarks and Districts.

Theodosia Burr Hall was born in Keosauqua, a settlement in the Iowa Territory, on October 14, 1845.

[8] They had four children: Augustus H., Myrtle Ellen (later Lloyd,[12] later Francis),[13] Margaret (later Oaks), and Edith (later Mrs. Fred Kelsey.

[5][19][20] At the time of her death, she was credited with being "the most noted woman in this line of work... not only in California but over all the country.

[25] Shepherd was encouraged to consider hybridizing as a business by nurseryman Peter Henderson of New York, around 1881.

[6] By 1892, she was cultivating 8 acres of gardens,[6] which included a hedge of heliotrope 400 feet (120 m) long,[16] and selling seeds nationally and internationally.

It has always seemed to me that I was called into the field of flowers with a special mission for them: to grow and disseminate them, where they are loved; to write about them; to talk about them, and, most of all, to create new varieties.

[21] On December 7, 1907, William Edgar Shepherd married Theodosia's widowed sister Ella Hall Enderlein.

[33][34] In 1946, Myrtle Shepherd Francis wrote a biography of her mother, entitled Theodosia: The Flower Wizard of California.

[26] The corner of Chestnut and Poli Streets, near where she lived, was designated a local historic landmark as of July 17, 1978.