[Fwd: [Lilium] Edward McRae]
Jane McGary (Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:38:57 PST)
Eddie McRae was a wonderful gardener and a kind, lively man with a
true dedication to the preservation of wild lilies as well as to
hybridizing them. I had the privilege of assisting him in the writing
of his book and got to know him and to visit his species lily nursery
at Parkdale, Oregon. Every plant was an individual to him, and he
remembered every lily he had ever seen. As the obituary forwarded by
Arnold mentions, he was also a pillar of his community and very
active in promoting the annual Scottish festival in Portland, the
Highland Games. Public spaces in Sandy, the town where he lived most
recently, display rich plantings thanks to Eddie and his helpers.
When one of our great gardeners dies, we can reflect that
their memorial lives on all around us, in the beautiful plants they
grew and shared with all of us.
Jane McGary
At 06:39 PM 11/21/2008, you wrote:
From the Lily group. A truly kind and generous man.
Edward Austin McRae
October 25, 1932 - November 16, 2008
Edward A. McRae was born October 25, 1932, in Echt, Aberdeenshire,
Scotland, the son of William McRae and Barbara Jeannie Smith McRae. He
was reared by his grandparents William Smith and Wilhelmina Ferguson
Smith after his mother's death in his infancy. After an apprenticeship
at Fyvie Castle Gardens, he served in the Royal Air Force as a weather
telegrapher in the Suez Canal. He then completed studies at the
Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden, remaining as botanical foreman for four
years. In 1961 he joined Jan de Graaff's Oregon Bulb Farms, in Sandy,
Oregon, hybridizing lilies there for over 25 years. In 1988, he began
hybridizing lilies at Van der Salm Bulb Farms, in Woodland, Washington.
Upon retirement in 1995, Ed founded the Species Lily Preservation Group,
centered at Lava Nurseries in Parkdale, Oregon. During his career, he
authored numerous articles on lilies and the book Lilies: A Guide for
Growers and Collectors.