William Gregor MacKenzie
William Gregor MacKenzie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 June 1904 Ballimore, Argyllshire, Scotland |
| Died | 16 October 1995 |
William Gregor MacKenzie ALS VMH (1904–1995) was a gardener and horticultural curator born in Scotland, where his father was head gardener at Ballimore, near Loch Fyne in Argyllshire.
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
[edit]Aged 24, MacKenzie became a student at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. [1] At the Botanic Garden, he was promoted to the position of Assistant Curator in charge of the Alpine and Herbaceous Department. [2]
Scottish Rock Garden Club
[edit]In 1933, he co-founded the Scottish Rock Garden Club and in 1994 he was made their honorary life president.
Chelsea Physic Garden
[edit]MacKenzie accepted the prestigious post of curator at the Chelsea Physic Garden in 1946, where he remained until his retirement in 1973.[1] Edward Augustus Bowles chaired the panel that selected MacKenzie as curator, where he initially restored the garden from wartime neglect and then reinvigorated it as a centre for horticulture[3]
Awards
[edit]In 1961, Bill MacKenzie was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour by the Royal Horticultural Society.[1]
Plants
[edit]Gentiana
[edit]The Gentiana ‘Inverleith’ was bred by MacKenzie.[2] It is an herbaceous perennial with trailing stems and has narrow, light green leaves and solitary, terminal, rich blue, funnel-shaped flowers with darker stripes on the outside.[4]
Clematis
[edit]
The author and gardener Valerie Finnis, in her work as a plant breeder, developed a cross between an "orange-peel" clematis (C. orientalis and C. tangutica) at the Waterperry School of Horticulture in 1968 which she named for Bill MacKenzie.[5] Finnis described him as her "great friend and mentor".[6] On 7 September 1976, she showed the clematis at a Royal Horticultural Society Show where it won an Award of Merit.
Clematis ‘Bill MacKenzie' is a large, vigorous deciduous climber with finely-cut leaves. Its flowers are 6-7cm in width with four thick, spreading bright yellow sepals surrounding dark stamens from early to late summer. It has good silky seed-heads. Clematis ‘Bill MacKenzie’ has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Obituary: Bill MacKenzie". London: The Independent. 20 October 1995. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Obituary: William MacKenzie". Scotland: The Herald. 20 October 1995. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ^ Ursula Buchan (2007) Valerie Finnis & the Golden Age of Gardening
- ^ "Gentiana 'Inverleith'". RHS. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ Ursula Buchan and Anna Pavord (2007) Garden People: Valerie Finnis and the Golden Age of Gardening. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-51353-8, ISBN 978-0-500-51353-8
- ^ Catherine Horwood (2010) Gardening Women: Their Stories From 1600 to the Present ISBN 0748118330, ISBN 9780748118335
- ^ "Clematis 'Bill MacKenzie' (Ta)". RHS. Retrieved 3 May 2020.