From Jason Delaney, thought it was well worth passing along~
Nice to know Jason is still singing for his supper -!
The Missouri Botanical Garden just updated its Narcissus collection in the Samuels and Heckman Bulb Gardens, the primary bulb collection where the majority of the daffodils are grown, and where our ADS display garden designation lies. This was done by one of our summer interns, Rebecca Pledger, from Stephen F. Austin University in TX. It was the first time since 2004 we have updated… suffice it to say, there are over 650 distinct varieties in these two gardens alone; Garden-wide, over 800 in the collection. Her project was no small task identifying the living from dead accessions, mapping each variety as it grows in the garden (no easy task when they’re all dormant!), and researching a lot of miscellaneous information for Plant Records department.
Perhaps most exciting and beneficial to the ADS, a major component of Rebecca’s project was to create an interactive map of the collection for online use; this will, when finished, be available from our main website (fingers crossed, spring 2010). It will feature maps of the Bulb Gardens, lists of the varieties grown sorted by bed, with specific points in the beds representing the specific daffodils. Tick the point and an image from our archives plus information on the flower will pop up (registration info, and a link to the ADS). Included in the web feature will be short columns on hybridizing how-to, bios on our local Missouri hybridizers (Delaney, Knehans, Knell, and Niswonger), general culture recommendations, seasonal blooming times for daffodils here at the Garden and the Shaw Nature Reserve, local society and regional society links, MBG-endorsed resources, and of course, a link to the ADS. Separate from this endeavor but very much related, we are also working on establishing our Narcissus collection as a recognized collection among the North American Plant Collections Consortium (red tape galore here…); this too would be featured on the site. When completed, this site would be a home page feature or ‘Garden Gram’ special announcement during peak bloom season, putting up front for all to see; otherwise, filed away in the off season under the ‘Gardening and Horticulture’ link.
In the meantime, if you go to our website www.mobot.org, click on ‘Explore’, then, under ‘Get the Facts’, click on ‘Conservatories, gardens, programs, and research facilities’, then ‘Bulb Collections’, it gives a very generic media release overview, updated annually…for the average person it takes a lot of sleuthing to find, something we are more than aware of and something our Web Development department is working on making more easily accessible. That said, as the scope of our institution is enormous, unless it is daffodil season and we are publicizing the bloom as a monthly feature, the site will never be a regular main page; sad but true, and completely understandable. The ADS website can link directly to it though, creating a direct portal and making it considerably more user-friendly.
So, stay tuned. please mark your calendars to visit us in early April 2010 to see what we have to offer.
Attached are a few pix from spring 2009. Hope you enjoy. Look closely and you’ll see the ADS sign; unfortunately, it was dark this day. Drats! (sorry in advance for the HUGE files).
All the best,
Jason