Tribute to Past Hybridizers A retrospective to familiarize ourselves with past AHS members responsible for many of the daylilies growing in our gardens |
Submissions by AHS members and friends Remembering hybridizers who have made significant contributions to the world of daylilies If you would like to participate, please e-mail for details |
Viola Parker | Clyde Davidson | Steve Moldovan | Oscie B. Whatley, Jr. | Brother Charles Reckamp | Pauline Henry |
Photo, newspaper clipping & data, are courtesy of granddaughter, Libby Beecher, Arkansas Viola Parker was an Arkansas hybridizer in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's, once served on the AHS Board of Directors for Region 13, and won several Honorable Mention awards plus two Awards of Merit for her introductions. Also, I'm proud to state, she was my grandmother.
I remember her yard being like something out of Southern Living, with all sorts of flowers, shrubs and trees. My dad stated that at one time Viola estimated she had over 1500 daylilies. I always loved to go to her house and play in her gardens. She used to get up at 4:30AM during the summer so she could watch her lilies awaken and make her crosses as soon as the flowers began to open. She kept journals on her flowers that told whether the blooms opened early, stayed open late, and whether or not they stood up to heat, sun and rain. Included in these journals were details about the plants themselves: dormant, semi-evergreen, evergreen, stalk height and strength, early, mid-season or late bloomers. She had a passion for green throats, the illusive white, and also loved the whimsical shapes of unusual forms. Her two Awards of Merit were won for H.'Arkansas Post' and H.'My Son Bob'. I always enjoyed "helping" when she held her annual Open House at Hope and Happiness Gardens. I was probably in the way, but she always found time to make me feel important, even when she was entertaining throngs of people. Having a small yard and garden of my own, I now realize all the work and love she put into her gardening every year. My biggest regret is that of her 176 registered cultivars, my family only has about 15 varieties left. I do still have most of the ones named for our family members, but so many are probably lost forever. If anyone has Parker cultivars they would be willing to share, please feel free to contact me, Libby Beecher, at legacyinlilies@gmail.com. |
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Photo & data courtesy of Roy Woodhall Steve Moldovan in his youth with a couple of the "pioneers of daylilies" Left: Steve with Orville Fay Right: Steve with David Hall | click to enlarge |
Photo & data herein courtesy of Michael Bouman To read articles by Oscie Whatley and posted on the AHS Website, click here Oscie B. Whatley, Jr. was a manufacturing engineer whose passion was breeding distinctive ornamental plants. Though his plant interests were wide, he focused his work on contributing new genetic material to the emerging field of tetraploid daylilies. He would judiciously acquire the best of the new diploids (the normal number of chromosomes) and would subject them to a near-fatal chemical treatment that resulted in a doubling of the chromosomes in the very few specimens that survived as fertile plants. He would then breed with a converted plant until he saw results that either proved the merit of the conversion or persuaded him that valuable advances were not to be achieved within his limited garden space. His high standards of overall plant excellence made him a leader in daylily
breeding from 1975 until his death in 2005. He emphasized plant vigor, vibrant color for distant viewing, and large floral size. Everyone who knew him experienced the deep well of generosity that he credited to his mother. Every friend felt like Oscie's "best" friend. His name is pronounced like O.C. His grandmother gave the name to his father as a short form of Osceola. She knew people would shorten it, anyway. As a young Texan in pilot training in St. Louis during World War II, he styled himself "O.B. Whatley." When he introduced himself to Dorothy Henderson, the girl he would marry, she said she disliked names that were initials and asked what his "real" name was. She thought he was kidding when she heard him reply, "O.C." |
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Photo & data courtesy: Late Bob Clary to Charlotte In Memory of Pauline Henry of famed Siloam Daylilies. All dressed for Sunday church, Pauline I was told made many of her own clothes, shoes dyed to match. She also had an extensive doll collection and loved sewing as well as gardening in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Her numerous award winning daylilies live on in umpteen of our gardens. Pauline's passing in 2000 (at 92) left behind a legacy of 490 daylilies she created over a span of 37 years. Some of her creations can be seen here: http://www.daylilydiary.com/siloam/henry.htm |