Heather - Heaths and Heathers

Heather
Quarterly
Volume 34 Number 1 Issue #133 Winter 2011
North American Heather Society
Reflections on David Small Karla Lortz ..................................2
Long-distance collaboration with David Small
David Wilson ..........................................................................3
David Small – A Personal Appreciation David Plumridge........4
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
North American Heather Society
Ella May Wulff, Membership Chair
2299 Wooded Knolls Drive
Philomath, OR 97370-5908
David Small as educator Bryan Taylor.......................................6
David Small, no Pooh-Bah Judy Wiksten ................................7
A special man Susan Ewalt ......................................................9
David Small: reflections on a giant
Donald A. M. Mackay.............................................................10
The irreplaceable David Small
Ella May T. Wulff.................12
NAHS Board meeting minutes.....................................................24
Calendar....................................................................................28
issn 1041-6838
Heather News, all rights reserved, is published quarterly by the North American
Heather Society, a tax exempt organization. The purpose of The Society is the:
(1) advancement and study of the botanical genera Andromeda, Calluna, Cassiope,
Daboecia, Erica, and Phyllodoce, commonly called heather, and related genera; (2)
dissemination of information on heather; and (3) promotion of fellowship among
those interested in heather.
NAHS Board of Directors (2010-2011)
PRESIDENT
Karla Lortz, Shelton, 502 E Haskell Hill Rd., Shelton, WA 98584-8429, USA
360-427-5318, [email protected]
FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT
Don Jewett, 2655 Virginia Ct., Fortuna, CA 95540, USA
707-725-1394, [email protected]
SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT
Pat Hoffman, PO Box 305, Swedesboro, NJ 08085-0305, USA
856-467-4711, [email protected]
SECRETARY
Susan Ewalt, 2850 Sykes Creek Road, Rogue River, OR 97537
541-582-3338, [email protected]
TREASURER
John Calhoun, 31100 Country Rd, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
707-964-0804, [email protected]
PAST PRESIDENT
Mario Abreu, P.O. Box 673, Albion, CA 95410-0673, USA
707-937-3155, Fax 707-964-3114, [email protected]
DIRECTORS
Mario Abreu, P.O. Box 673, Albion, CA 95410-0673, USA
707-937-3155, Fax 707-964-3114, [email protected]
Mendocino Coast Heather Society (MCHS)
Ramona Bloomingdale, P.O. Box 1136, Gold Beach, OR 97444-1136, USA
541-247-6017, [email protected]
Oregon Heather Society (OHS)
Don Jewett, 2655 Virginia Ct., Fortuna, CA 95540, USA
707-725-1394, [email protected]
Heather Enthusiasts of the Redwood Empire (HERE)
Karla Lortz, Shelton, 502 E Haskell Hill Rd., Shelton, WA 98584-8429, USA
360-427-5318, [email protected]
Cascade Heather Society (CHS)
Joyce Prothero, 281 Cudmore Hts, Saltspring Island, BC V8K 2J7, Canada
Phone/Fax 250-537-9215, [email protected]
Vancouver Island Heather Society (VIHS)
Mary Matwey, 7 Heights Court, Binghamton, NY 13905, USA
607-723-1418, [email protected]
Northeast Heather Society (NEHS)
Board Appointments (For details, see inside back cover)
Sharon Hardy - Book Librarian
Janice Leinwebber - Slide Librarian for United States
Stefani McRae-Dickey - Editor, Heather Quarterly
Elaine Scott - Slide Librarian for Canada
Ella May Wulff - Membership Chair, Storefront Manager
T h e I n f o r m a t i o n Pa g e
BROWSE
READ
ATTEND
How to get the latest heather information
NAHS website – www.northamericanheathersoc.org
Heather Quarterly by NAHS
CHS NEWS by CHS
Heather Clippings by HERE
Heather Drift by VIHS Heather News by MCHS
Heather Notes by NEHS Heather & Yon by OHS
Society and Chapter meetings (See The Calendar on page 28)
CONTACT
DEADLINES
How to get published in Heather Quarterly
Stefani McRae-Dickey, Editor of Heather Quarterly
[email protected] 541-929-7988. 754 Wyatt Lane,
Philomath,OR 97370-9022OK for ideas and last-minute news.
21st March, June, September, and December
How to pay membership dues
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS include an electronic subscription to the Quarterly, participation
in Society meetings and elections; borrowing privileges for book library and slide
programs; discounts from Storefront, some nurseries.
DUES NAHS: $15/year, $28/2 years, $40/3 years with electronic newsletter.
To receive mailed copies of the newsletter add:
$11/year in US, $15/year in Canada, $22/year outside of US and Canada
Chapter dues can be paid when paying NAHS dues, by adding:
CHS $5/year; HERE(1 person), MCHS, OHS, VIHS $10/year; HERE(family),
NEHS $15/year
REMIT TO John Calhoun, NAHS Treasurer
31100 Country Rd, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
(707) 964-0804,
DETAILS
Ella May Wulff, Membership Chair
[email protected], 541-929-6272, NAHS website
2299 Wooded Knolls Dr., Philomath, OR 97370-5908, USA
BROWSE
CONTACT
WRITE
How to borrow books from the NAHS library
Sharon Hardy, 50 Del Point Drive, Klamath, CA 95548-9331, USA.
[email protected], 707-482-6755, NAHS website
WRITE How to borrow slide programs
Janice Leinwebber (Slide Librarian for members in USA)
8268 S. Gribble Road, Canby, OR 97013, USA
[email protected], 503-263-2428, or NAHS website
Elaine Scott (Slide Librarian for members in Canada)
2836 Oceanside Lane, Mill Bay, BC V0R 2P2, CAN.
[email protected], 250-743-0965, NAHS website
BROWSE
CONTACT
COVER: Design, Joyce Descloux
IMAGE: Erica carnea ‘Bell’s Extra Special’
HNQ # 133
How to buy from The Storefront
NAHS Website, www.northamericanheathersoc.org
Ella May T. Wulff, Storefront Manager, (Address: see above.)
How to contribute to the NAHS website
NAHS Website, www.northamericanheathersoc.org
Karla Lortz, Shelton, 502 E Haskell Hill Rd., Shelton, WA 98584-8429, USA
360-427-5318, [email protected]
Winter 2011
are: President Karla Lortz, First Vice-President Don Jewett, Secretary
Susan Ewalt, and Treasurer John Calhoun.
Second Vice-President Pat Hoffman was elected by mail/email ballot in
late fall, 2010. (Details of election and by-laws change will be published
in the spring quarterly.)
    
Calendar
March 5
OHS Pruning party and sack lunch, Cottage Grove
Community Hospital, Cottage Grove. Info: Ella
May Wulff, (541) 929-6272, [email protected].
March 19
CHS is meeting at 1 PM at Heaths & Heathers’
Display Garden at 631 E Pickering Rd, Shelton, WA.
Info: Alice Knight (360) 482-3258,
[email protected].
April 9
NEHS Heather Trimming at 10 am, Fort Tryon,
Manhattan, NY. Rain date on April 16. Board
meeting after trimming. Bring a lunch.
Info: Mary Matwey (607) 723-1418,
[email protected].
April 24
NEHS Heather Trimming at 10 am, The Heritage
Museum and Gardens, 67 Grove Street, Sandwich,
MA. Bring a lunch. Info: Mary Matwey.
Aug. 20
OHS Full day in Gold Beach area. Meeting, garden
and nursery visits, including presentation by Susan
Ewalt on “Growing Heather”. Info: Ramona
Bloomingdale, (541) 247-6017,
[email protected]
President’s Forum: Karla Lortz
It is an honor to serve the North American Heather Society. I have
served in various capacities in the Cascade Heather Society and
NAHS for the past two decades. Thank you for the opportunity to
continue to serve heather enthusiasts.
One of my major concerns as your incoming president is the
declining membership numbers of NAHS and its supporting
chapters. Some of our chapters are on the brink of collapse. We
need to brainstorm to figure out how to bring in more folks. We
need to look to the future and consider restructuring how we
operate.
Many of our members are not computer savvy, and we cannot
forget them. At the same time, the up and coming generation
(from which our future leaders will come) is on-line exclusively,
and that leads me to the subject of Facebook. A web site is not
enough any longer with the younger crowd. Facebook is where
they hang out, and we need to be where they are. I am the owner of Heaths & Heathers Nursery in Shelton, WA.
I made a Facebook page for the nursery last month, with a lot
of landscape photos from my display garden. My 33 year-old
hairdresser looked at my page on Facebook after I mentioned it
to her. Now she and her husband want to come see my display
garden. They were inspired by the photos. She never once looked
at my web site over the past three years but did go to my Facebook
page immediately.
Facebook could be a great place for members to post in their
garden shots. I would love to go to an NAHS page and see
other members’ gardens in other parts of the country, with their
comments. We could create an on-line heather community.
Aug. 26–28 NEHS Annual meeting and heather conference,
Binghamton, NY. Info: Mary Matwey.
The future may include gathering more on-line than in person. Fewer and fewer folks actually go to meetings but still want to
belong to a society. I’ll try to help guide NAHS through this
transition. Please let me know your own thoughts on this vital
subject.
28
Winter 2011
HNQ # 133
1
Reflections on David Small
Mario expressed concern about the ability of chapters to continue to
host an Annual Meeting of the NAHS membership on a rotating basis;
the Board concurred with his suggestion that NAHS membership
conferences be held every other year. Accordingly, the following Motion,
proposed by Ella May, seconded by Karla, was passed unanimously:
Karla Lortz
502 E. Haskell Hill Rd., Shelton, WA 98584-8429
[email protected]
We had the pleasure of hosting David Small twice. The first time,
we had a few days and took him on a camping trip. He wanted
to see the Olympic Peninsula rather than private gardens. Our
family took him from the top of Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic
Mountains (hunting for Cassiope and Phyllodoce) to camping on
the beach at the Pacific Ocean.
On the second trip, Anne and David were here for only a very
short visit. We took them out in our boat on Pickering Passage,
which is one of the best ways to appreciate the beauty of our area
on a summer day. From out on the water, you can see on the
horizon the very mountains he had been hiking on his earlier trip
with us. David was fun as a travelling companion. Along with his
knowledge of heather, he had some entertaining stories to tell.
I was sticking cuttings this afternoon, and I realized how David’s
coming here to the US for one conference changed the way I stick
them. He said that studies had shown that you don’t have to strip
the foliage off of the lower part of the cutting. The foliage doesn’t
affect rooting time much at all. [It just can make it a little more
difficult to tell if the cuttings have rooted or not if you gently tug
on one to check it: the foliage may make the cutting resist being
pulled out, mimicking the effect of roots.] This has saved me a
ton of time of stripping and mess of the removed foliage. I often
think of him when that occurs to me. When you personally stick
thousands of cuttings, this becomes very useful information!
Much of what David did for the heather world was useful to me,
from that advice to his published works. He generously let me use
information from The Heather Society’s Handy Guide to Heathers in
my catalogues and web site. He was generous to the end. My last
email from him was his blessing to use the Handy Guide as a basis
for creating a new, illustrated “Handy Guide” here.
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HNQ # 133
MOTION #2: That a bylaw change be made to Article V, Section 1 so
that “Annual Meeting” is replaced by “Biennial Meeting.”
The schedule approved for the next five biennial meetings of the NAHS
membership is as follows: 2012 Cascade Heather Society (CHS), 2014
Northeast Heather Society (NEHS), 2016 Heather Enthusiasts of the
Redwood Empire (HERE), 2018 Vancouver Island Heather Society
(VIHS), 2020 Oregon Heather Society (OHS)
It is anticipated that in some cases, adjoining chapters might cooperate
in the planning of a biennial meeting.
2. NAHS Annual Board Meeting.
The Board will continue to conduct its meetings on an annual basis. In
those years when a meeting of the membership is not scheduled, the
Board will conduct its business electronically.
3. NAHS Website/Web Master: Karla volunteered to set up and/or update
the NAHS website. She will contact Stefani for the information from
Bryan Taylor concerning the current website setup.
4. Editor, Heather Quarterly: Made by Karla, seconded by Ella May,
and passed unanimously: MOTION #3: That Stefani McRae-Dickey be
appointed the Editor of Heather Quarterly for 2011.
5. 2011 Budget. Made by Ella May, seconded by Ramona, and passed
unanimously: MOTION #4: That a discussion to establish the NAHS
budget for 2011 be conducted electronically.
ADJOURNMENT. The meeting adjourned at 1l:15 am.
Joyce Prothero,
Secretary.
Officers duly elected at the annual membership meeting in Fort Bragg
Winter 2011
27
signed “consent to serve” forms from those accepting nominations.
NOTE: The elected 2011-12 NAHS Board Treasurer will complete the
remaining 2010 Treasurer’s term of office (vacant since July 1st, 2010).
TREASURER’S REPORT (prepared/submitted electronically by Paul
Dickey)
The Treasurer’s report was accepted as prepared. On behalf of the Board,
Mario expressed thanks to Paul for five years of excellent service as
Treasurer.
OLD BUSINESS
The October 19, 2009 Board minutes were approved as circulated.
NEW BUSINESS
1. NAHS and Chapter membership enrollment: The Membership
Chair previously reported declining NAHS membership. Board
members generally reported declining Chapter memberships. The
VIHS membership, which is holding steady, even slightly increasing,
is a notable exception; Joyce attributed the vitality of VIHS to the
collaborative planning of its monthly meetings, which vary between
study sessions (winter months) and field trips and the enthusiastic
leadership of the Board.
Karla noted the need for a brochure as a handout at the flower show
booth. Joyce suggested developing a rack card (cheaper than a brochure)
which could be made available to Chapters as well as at the flower show
booth. Karla said she also could include it in the heather orders which
she will start shipping in September. A perusal of the 2010 budget showed
up to $80 would be unspent in Line 27 “Membership & Administration”
at the end of 2010. The following Motion, proposed by Don, seconded
by Karla, was passed unanimously:
Long-distance collaboration with David Small
David Wilson
6605 Hopedale Rd., Chilliwack, British Columbia V2R 4L4, Canada
[email protected]
During the mid-1990s, David Small and I exchanged letters a
number of times, comparing notes on the cultivars available to
us here in North America and what material of different varieties
might be on hand from his sources in the United Kingdom.
David wanted to add to the heather landscape on this side of the
Atlantic; and he did, sending us more than 50 new cultivars and
some species that we had not grown before.
I met David in person for the first time at the NAHS conference in
Tacoma, Washington in 1998, and he returned to British Columbia
with me for a two-day visit. David enjoyed visiting the nursery and
spending time with our staff, giving them gentle instructions on
propagation. His eyes were not always on the nursery plants but
were often turned to views of the Cascade Mountains to our east.
On the second day of his visit, David and I drove to Manning Park
in the Cascades and visited the alpine meadows. David collected
an interesting mutation growing on Phyllodoce empetriformis and
delighted in seeing Cassiope, the first he had seen in the wild,
growing on the north-facing, moist, rocky slopes. I think his
greatest thrill that day was to find a chipmunk that had joined us
in the car and was determined to share David’s seat.
Without David Small, the world of heathers will be missing a vital
link.
David Small was so impressed
with Wilson’s cross of Erica
tetralix ‘Melbury White’ with E.
manipuliflora ‘Korčula’ that he took
home cuttings from eight promising
seedlings and rooted them at
Denbeigh. David Wilson later
introduced one of those seedlings
as E. x garforthensis ‘Tracy Wilson’,
shown here in October bearing
both fresh and spent flowers.
MOTION #1: That the use of funds remaining in Line 27 (Membership
and Administration) for 2010 include the printing of membership
cards.
Joyce offered to prepare a rack card using a format similar to the BCIS
rack card (circulated); Ramona offered to select and provide heather
photos for use on the rack card; and Karla offered to print the cards at
cost.
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HNQ # 133
Winter 2011
3
David Small – A Personal Appreciation
David Plumridge
Rose Cottage, Castleside, Consett, County Durham DH8 9AP, England
[email protected]
Rita and I have known David for well over 20 years. We quickly
realised that despite his quiet, almost diffident approach, we were
in the company of not only a genuine heather lover but, moreover,
a real expert. This has been confirmed over the years, mainly at
the annual heather society events but also in his response to our
heather questions. His help in identifying “lost label” plants
was particularly valuable, as was his and Anne Small’s Handy
Guide to Heathers. Although we had a common background in
electronics, our main topic of conversation was, of course, heather
gardening.
McRae-Dickey, first vice president
Absent: Michael Krieger (VIHS)
Attendee: Sharon Hardy, NAHS librarian
Resigned: Paul Dickey, treasurer (as of June 30, 2010)
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 9:12 am. Mario noted that, although
the size of our meeting was unusually small, a quorum was present. The
agenda was reviewed and approved.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS AND INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
Mario noted that currently NAHS has no treasurer and that he has
received no report of nominations for officers.
Ella May reported that she had received correspondence from Kurt
Kramer (of the German heather society Die Gesellschaft der Heidefreunde)
concerning the Fourth International Heather Conference in 2012, asking
her to ascertain whether there was enough interest if it were to be in the
area near the borders of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Ella May also reported that Jürgen Schröder (president, Die gesellschaft
der Heidefreunde) had died in June 2010.
Mario reported receiving a discouraging email from Mary Matwey
(president, NEHS) concerning the attendance at NEHS membership
meetings. Mary has asked Mario to be the NEHS proxy.
Kurt Kramer led
David Small, Ron
Cleevely, Judy
Wiksten and
other visitors
on a tour of his
garden after the
First International
Heather
Conference, 2000.
Photo by Ella May
Wulff.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
1. Membership (Ella May Wulff): NAHS paid membership continues to
decline and now is approximately 200. Life member Pauline Croxton
died recently.
2. Storefront (Ella May Wulff): Very little activity. A short inconclusive
discussion ensued.
3. Nominations (Don Jewett): Don reported no nominations other
than himself for First Vice-president. In the ensuing discussion, Ella
May asked if Pat Hoffman had been contacted re Second Vice-president
(Answer: No) and volunteered to contact her plus several others; Karla
agreed to be President; various names, including John Calhoun (MCHS)
were suggested as possibilities for Treasurer. Mario noted that we’ll need
4
HNQ # 133
Winter 2011
25
In 1984, David Wilson “began
pollinating E. tetralix cultivars
with two of the best Erica vagans
cultivars, ‘Mrs D. F. Maxwell’
and ‘Lyonesse’.” Most of the
seedlings that germinated from
these crossings were inferior, but
“part of a stock bed was planted
with a few promising seedlings.
. . .Cuttings were sent to David
Small . . .with the request that
the best one be named Ken
Wilson” to commemorate his
father’s efforts “to help organize
what became the NAHS. . . .
Erica x williamsii ‘Ken Wilson’
[David Small’s selection from
among those cuttings, shown
here flowering in May in the
heather garden at Cottage Grove
Community Hospital, Oregon]
was introduced in 1992.”
Excerpted from Wilson, D. 1999.
Williams’ Heath. Heather News
22 (2): 16–17.
Photo by Barry Wulff
    
NAHS Board Meeting Minutes
Fort Bragg, California
August 6, 2010
We always enjoyed David’s company, but for some reason we
particularly enjoyed being with him in Holland and Germany
in 2000 for the First International Heather Conference, when we
noted how well he interacted with the European growers. He
had built up a great network of contacts in the heather world.
Because of this, we often received visits to our garden on his
recommendation, from heather gardeners not only from this
country, but also from abroad.
David’s dedication and contributions to The Heather Society
were amazing. Full details will be given in Heathers 8, the 2011
yearbook of The Heather Society.
Erica manipuliflora
‘Ian Cooper’ is a
very fragrant and
floriferous late
blooming cultivar
discovered by David
Small’s father in
Croatia.
Photo by Barry Wulff.
Present: NAHS Board Officers: Mario Abreu, president; Joyce Prothero,
secretary; Ella May Wulff, past-president
NAHS Directors: Mario Abreu (MCHS), Karla Lortz (CHS); Ramona
Bloomingdale (OHS), Don Jewett
(HERE)
Proxy: Mario Abreu for Mary Matwey (NEHS), Ella May Wulff for Stefani
24
HNQ # 133
Winter 2011
5
David Small as educator
Nelson, E. C. and D. J. Small. 2000. International Register of
Heather Names. Creeting St. Mary: The Heather Society.
Bryan Taylor
4795 Elliot Place, Victoria, British Columbia V8Y 3E4, Canada
[email protected]
What an incredible contributor to our horticultural knowledge
was David Small, and specifically to our knowledge and love of
heathers. When he was the featured speaker at the 2002 NAHS
conference in Nanaimo, BC, David was the first person to make
me aware of how effective Power Point can be as a communication
tool.
As part of his conference visit, David toured the gardens of
the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, now known as Glendale
Gardens, with Head
Gardener Lee Stemski
and expressed a lot
of interest in things
other than heathers.
The attached photo is
a good shot of David
doing what he liked
best, and we got much
useful advice from
him on that visit.
Small, D. J. 2004. Suggestions for some beds of heather:
for those who cannot sketch. Heathers 1: 4 (Yearbook of The
Heather Society 2004).
Small, D. and A. Small. 2001. The Heather Society’s Handy Guide
to Heathers 3rd Ed. Creeting St. Mary: The Heather Society.
Small, D. and E. M. T. Wulff. 2008. Gardening with Hardy
Heathers. Portland/London: Timber Press.
Wulff, E. M. T. 2004. Yachats heathers revisited. Heather News
Quarterly 27 (3): 154–16.
Authors, photographers and illustrators submitting work for publication in
Heather News implicitly agree that such work may also be published on the
NAHS website or in other NAHS eductional materials, and reprinted by NAHS
chapters for educational purposes.
Any other use will require separate permission from the author, photographer
or illustrator.
Editor’s Acknowledgments and Credits
Manuscripts: Susan Ewalt, Karla Lortz, Donald A. M.
David Small examines a fuchsia at the Horticulture
Centre of the Pacific. Photo by Bryan Taylor.
Before the 2002 NAHS
conference in Nanaimo,
BC, VIHS members showed
visitors the heather garden
at the Horticulture Centre of
the Pacific. From left to right:
Bryan and Joan Taylor, Ella May
Wulff, Ellen Norris, Anne and
David Small, Joyce Prothero.
Photo by Lee Stemski using
Bryan Taylor’s camera.
6
Mackay, David Plumridge, Bryan Taylor, Judy Wiksten,
David Wilson, Ella May Wulff
Other written contributions: Joyce Prothero
Cover photo: Barry Wulff
Other photos: credits noted in captions
Proofreading: Ella May Wulff
Printing and distribution: Paul Dickey, Stefani McRaeDickey, OSU Printing & Mailing Services
HNQ # 133
Winter 2011
23
80,000 words, not the 50,000 words specified in our contract,
ever-generous David suggested to the editor that I replace him as
senior author. This unselfish offer I declined, but not for unselfish
reasons.
It was, after all, David’s book. He contributed the meat of the
book, the important cultivation guidelines without which the
book would be useless. I would never have come to write it without
him. Also, somehow “Small and Wulff” sounded better to me
than “Wulff and Small”. My last reason for turning down the offer
was completely selfish. I hoped that if David were senior author,
when people had heather questions, they would ask David, not
me.
He was the expert, with decades of experience as a nurseryman
and student of heathers. In addition to the numerous articles that
David wrote between 1969 and 2008 for THS publications, he
wrote 79 articles (if I counted correctly in the biography of David’s
writing compiled by Richard Canovan for THS yearbook 2011 [in
press]) between 1987 and 1995 for the British weekly magazine
Amateur Gardening! By comparison, I am a Johnny-come-lately,
forced to become an “expert” to some degree when I accepted
an office in the North American Heather Society and to a much
greater degree when I took on the book.
Sadly, David never made the full recovery for which so many had
hoped. I am no longer just the junior author of Gardening with
Hardy Heathers. I am the surviving author. I hope I can live up to
the trust that David placed in me. David never made people feel
“small” (no pun intended), however minimal their knowledge of
heathers. I hope that I can emulate him, though his shoes are
impossible to fill. He was truly irreplaceable.
Alexander, Glenda. 2005. Heather garden design with a webbased program. Heather News Quarterly 28 (1): 13–15.
McClintock, David. 1983. Inter Hispanicum Ericaceum.
Yearbook of The Heather Society 3 (1): 33–40.
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HNQ # 133
David Small, no Pooh-Bah
Judy Wiksten
135 East Turgot Ave., Edgewater, FL 32132-2302
[email protected]
A light went out in England on November 11th, 2010, and the rest
of us live in a little duller world since David Small is no longer in
it. That’s my opinion anyway, from one who considers herself a
fan of the late chairman and president of The Heather Society.
I wrote to Anne, his widow, that although others will list his
auspicious accomplishments – and there are many, I will remember
him most fondly for something she already knows well: he was
simply a nice man. He was a person with whom one could enjoy
an easy conversation, with no frills, no snobbishness, no talking
down to people like me who didn’t know a fraction as much as
he did.
Lucky was the passenger on The Heather Society coach who got to
sit beside David for at least part of our journeys around England,
Scotland, Wales, and even Eire during annual conferences. I was
that happy person at least once. To be honest, I don’t recall the
conference or the details of conversation, but that’s my point: sitting
and talking with one of the most knowledgeable heather experts
in the world, a published author and an important researcher in
his own right, was really no big deal. It was fun, casual, a nice
segment of free time spent with a nice person. That’s just the
way he was, a brilliant yet unassuming man, not a trace of Grand
Pooh-Bah about him.
But I do have a somewhat related story I’ll tell you about David.
On The Heather Society’s great expedition to South Africa in 2003,
we shared a bit of time together forever memorable to me. I even
have a picture of it, but the camera is pointed at the view rather
than the poor, hapless, exhausted climbers sitting on a rock ledge
after we decided to drop out of that afternoon’s manic pursuit
of some rare South African Erica growing up at the top of some
Winter 2011
7
mountain. I didn’t exactly share the enthusiasm of seeing the
damn thing in situ, and David was just tired of climbing. So we
chose a nice slab of rock, relatively snake-free we figured, and told
the others to pick us up on their way back down. But meanwhile,
bye-bye, we quit!
Sometimes giving up is a huge relief, and this was. Gradually, we
stopped gasping for air and sweating. I lit a cigarette, and David
returned to a natural color other than bright pink. We started
enjoying the world-class view. We chatted about nothing, looking
out over thousands of acres of South African landscape rolling
to the horizon, and feeling happy to be alive. It was a view few
mortals get to see, an outlook point fit for a king.
And then we spotted it, what the king had left behind: a perfect,
thankfully dried-out, piece of – ah, how shall I put it? – baboon
excrement. This sounds much sillier said in a British accent, by
the way, as David said it. “That looks like buh-BOON poo.” Yup,
that’s what it was, and the absurdly funny moment was recorded
on film.
and his London editor sent me what he’d turned in so far, about
20,000 words toward the contracted-for 50,000-word book, along
with a copy of the letter that she’d sent to him explaining that she
really needed to hold him to that 50,000-word agreement. I could
see how a sick person receiving that letter would have thrown
up his hands and said, “I can’t do it.” The attached manuscript
appeared to cover what I considered the “difficult” parts of the
book as far as I was concerned: cultural information, pests and
diseases, propagation techniques. That left the “fun” bits for me:
companion plants, garden design, etc., though David had begun
to work a little on the design section. Our editor also wanted
more cultivar descriptions.
Little did I know what I was getting into. In truth, David was not
always able to be there for me. His health simply would not permit
that. As work on the book progressed, the formerly prompt David,
who over our years of correspondence invariably had replied
almost immediately to my queries, sometimes didn’t answer for
weeks. I finally learned to address urgent emails to both David
and Anne. Then Anne would get the answer for me if David had
not been up to checking his emails. I also leaned heavily upon
Charles Nelson, who took time from his own pressing duties to
look over what I’d written, suggest changes, and point me in the
proper direction.
Periodically, David would be feeling well again and back to his
old self. Thus when I decided to enlarge the section about pests to
include mammals and wrote the bit about deer predation, David
then wrote about rabbits and mice, etc. Whenever I added to
and revised what he had written, I sent the new pages for David’s
approval or corrections.
David Small and Judy Wiksten discovered with some trepidation that they were
not the first to view this magnificent South African landscape.
Photo by Judy Wiksten.
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Although I ended up taking the book in directions that David said
he’d never considered, such as adding the chapters on hybridizing
and on heathers for special uses, there was no part of the book
that David did not read, approve, and contribute to before
it was submitted to our editor. When it became apparent that
I had written much more of the book than he had – it became
Winter 2011
21
I don’t remember the name of any Erica found that day, though I
suppose I have slides of them somewhere. What I do remember
are those hours when I had David Small all to myself. Those are
memories to cherish.
David helped to plan the second international heather conference,
held in Scotland in 2004. It was at that conference that the
NAHS presented David and Anne with honorary life membership
in NAHS. The last time I was with David was at the Scottish
conference, although we continued corresponding by email until
his death.
It was also in 2004 that Timber Press asked David to write a book
for them about gardening with heathers. I didn’t learn that until I
received an email from David in 2006 asking if I would complete
the book, because his health problems had become overwhelming.
I don’t know how many other people he asked before he got to
me. I didn’t have the courage to ask David, and if others did turn
him down, they have kindly refrained from telling me. The logical
person to finish the Timber Press book would have been Charles
Nelson, who had already collaborated with David Small on many
projects, though he is more botanist than gardener. But Charles
was already involved with his own magnum opus, finishing the
Kew monograph on European heathers begun many years earlier
by David McClintock, a past president of THS.
In any case, I really couldn’t turn down the request. I had actually
been considering writing a heather book of my own, though it
was more along the lines of “The Creation of a Heather Garden”,
enlarging upon the “Starting from scratch” articles I’d written for
Heather News. This was a more ambitious undertaking. A new
book was desperately needed, because all relatively comprehensive
English-language books on gardening with heathers were out of
print and badly out of date. Having an author on each side of the
Atlantic would make the new book much more valuable, as each
author would bring different gardening perspectives to the work.
David promised that he would “be there” for me if I took it on,
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Well, yes, then we did start discussing what might happen if the
baboon came back and found us sitting on his favorite rock, or
lavatory, or whatever it was we had blundered onto. Baboons, we
had been told, are nothing to mess with. This was a thought that
made us a bit nervous, sharing no more lethal weaponry between
us than slightly pointy walking sticks. Our hastily devised plan of
defense involved retreat rather than combat. Fortunately, the group
returned pretty soon, and we headed back down the mountain,
safe within our own herd again.
And that’s the poo story, from someone who remembers with
mirth and affection David Small, the august leader of The Heather
Society; no Pooh-Bah, he!
A special man
    
Susan Ewalt
2850 Sykes Creek Rd., Rogue River, OR 97536
[email protected]
Our hearts are heavy with the loss of David Small. His knowledge,
expertise and love of heather made him special to all in the heather
societies who knew him. I had the privilege of spending about
ten days traveling with David and Anne Small during and after the
Second International Heather Conference in Scotland in 2004. We
had interesting conversations and lots of fun adventuring. David
made the trip great by trusting the tour guide to find interesting
places to stay, to eat, and to
explore, always with heather
in mind. He was a special
person.
David Small chats with John Griffiths
during the Second International
Heather Conference in Aviemore,
Scotland, 2004.
Photo by David Plumridge.
Winter 2011
9
David Small: reflections on a giant
found in their native habitats. David’s remark was based upon
his observations of other naturalized heather populations. Not
long afterward, we discovered just such a nearby planting of old
cultivated heathers that could have been contributing seed to the
804 population (Wulff 2004).
Donald A. M. Mackay
135 Deerfield Lane, Pleasantville, NY 10570-1401
[email protected]
Although I think that quite a few of us knew that David Small was
sick, and perhaps some knew that he was seriously ill, I doubt if
any of us were prepared for the awful suddenness of the news that
he had died. Giants don’t die, and he was certainly among the
giants of the heather world.
I first met David at one of the annual conferences of The Heather
Society in Great Britain, when I was too diffident to ask questions
from the floor in the presence of such luminaries as Turpin,
McClintock, Julian, Hall, et al; but I found it easy to talk oneon-one with David Small, the Heather Society chairman himself.
He was so approachable, so generous with his time, so skilled in
hiding his surprise at questions that surely revealed a profound
ignorance of the topic, that it was easy to confuse his roles of master
gardener, Heather Society officer, successful nursery operator, and
indeed, scientist.
David’s knowledge of botany certainly exceeded mine, with
many inputs from the world’s botanic literature, such as that on
moorland ecology, initiation of meristem growth, or the cooling
benefits of misting as distinct from simply keeping the humidity
high around heather cuttings. He was extremely knowledgeable
and had the background and training to make a success of any
science. But he wore his knowledge very lightly.
He always seemed a step ahead of the rest of us, such as in
publishing (with his son, Ian) the use of DNA patterns for sorting
out heather species relationships. I was thinking about it; he was
doing it.
I will leave to others an appreciation of David Small’s efforts in
guiding The Heather Society through many years of growth, but
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During the second trip that David arranged to the Western
Cape Province of South Africa, in 2003, both David and I were
experiencing physical problems that made steep mountain hikes
difficult for us. When we arrived at the starting point for one
particularly challenging hike in search of a gorgeous rare Erica
species known to live in higher elevations in that area, David and
I elected to remain at the base of the mountain while the others
made the climb.
It was a lovely warm and sunny spring day, and we were quite
happy poking around the vegetation at the base of the mountain,
especially after we each separately found plants of a very attractive
Erica that neither of us had seen before. We decided that we hadn’t
missed so much after all by not going up the mountain. We had
a “find” all our own. We also found several other Erica species,
though none as impressive as the unfamiliar species. We were
content to sit on a rock in the sunshine, eat our sack lunches,
and chat while we waited for the return of the intrepid explorers.
I felt particularly privileged to have these few hours alone with
David. It was not until I read Judy Wiksten’s tribute (page 7) that
I learned that she also treasured a tete
����� � tete������������������
����������������������
with David Small
during the same African trip. Sometimes health problems bring
unexpected blessings.
Shortly after we finished eating, the rest of the group came down
off the mountain triumphantly bearing sprigs of the sought-after
heather species (for our educational benefit, because the export
of South African native plants, even a few cuttings, was now very
tightly controlled). To our chagrin, they also carried sprigs of “our”
species, whose finding had somewhat consoled us for not being
able to see the rare species in situ. Our low elevation discovery
wasn’t unique to us, after all.
Winter 2011
19
those of us in North America have surely had much the gain from
The Heather Society’s Handy Guide to Heathers, which all of us have
found invaluable, if only in tracking down a forgotten plant in
a corner of the garden, or an unreadable label. David himself
had no need of references, books, manuals or even enchiridions
in identifying a plant. His knowledge was astounding, even
for someone whose business was in growing many different
heathers.
But there was more to it than just knowing: it was the imparting
of the knowing. He was kind, he was forbearing, he was forgiving;
but above all, he was patient. No gardener too new, no novice so
non-plussed, no question too dumb that his reservoir of patience
and consideration was ever depleted.
David Small was a true gentleman, whose loss to us of the heather
world, great though it is, has to be put in perspective to that of his
family’s loss. Our condolences go out to them. He will be surely
and sorely missed.
David Small examines one of the naturalized heathers in Yachats, Oregon,
2002. Photo by Barry Wulff
had a good time picking out interesting Calluna plants that might
be worth propagating.
Although at the time we had no idea how long the heathers had
been there or where they had come from, David commented
that because there were so many different flower colors (photo p.
14), including the dark-colored plant now registered as ‘Oregon
Glow’, the little colony was probably being constantly replenished
by seed blown into the area from a nearby planting of named
cultivars. He said that usually when heathers naturalize, eventually
the colony reverts to having flowers mostly in the tints of mauve
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At least I have my own condolences in the memories of his visits
here, of the brand new heathers he brought to these shores, with
names I had never heard of, and the number of treasures that his
visitors would be sure to leave with. And I will treasure his books,
the guides he wrote with his wife, Anne, and the excellent book
recently co-authored with Ella May Wulff. Although I don’t know
who wrote which word, I am prepared to give him credit for all
the parts that bring his consideration, his kindness, his gentleness
and his humanity back to life.
“Most gardeners are overwhelmed when presented for the
first time with the infinite variation of the many garden
selections of heather.”
David Small
Gardening with Hardy Heathers, 2008
Winter 2011
11
The irreplaceable David Small
Ella May T. Wulff
2299 Wooded Knolls Drive, Philomath, OR 97370 [email protected]
Two themes became apparent as the tributes to David Small from
NAHS members in both North America and the UK poured in:
David’s generosity and absolutely dedication to heathers and The
Heather Society (THS), and the role of Anne Small as David’s
quiet partner and enabler. Although David was the spokesman
and earned the greater name recognition, anyone spending time
with both of them would have noted how well David and Anne
worked together. I first noticed this at the propagation workshop
they offered during THS conference in Penrith, Cumbria, in 1997.
Although David did the initial explanation of proper technique
for taking and sticking heather cuttings, Anne was right there with
the cuttings flats (cell trays), ready to help guide you through
the process if you weren’t quite sure how to go about it. She
also made sure that all the cuttings were thoroughly watered in
afterward. And there is no question that at home in Denbeigh,
they shared the work needed to keep their heathers healthy and
growing well.
Susie Kay noted in her tribute [HQ Fall 2010, p.22] that Anne
carefully recorded every photo David took during the two tours he
organized to South Africa to view the Cape heaths. I would add
that during the first tour, when David was gathering cuttings for
propagation, Anne diligently recorded species name and pertinent
observations to accompany each carefully bagged lot of cuttings.
(Anne also toted the small plastic bags for this.) By the end of
the trip, David was lugging a huge plastic bag of cuttings that was
nearly as big as he was.
Their sometimes-unsung joint contributions to the heather world
are tremendous, but The Heather Society’s Handy Guide to Heathers,
jointly compiled by Anne and David, made the name Small
synonymous with heather. The three editions of this invaluable
listing, with descriptions of all commercially available European
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“Heathers on the Internet” for The Yearbook of The Heather Society
2000 (pp. 22–24) that could well be subtitled “Internet Use for
Dummies”.
David put the Handy Guide on the website, updated periodically
and illustrated with many more photos than could be included in
the 3rd edition, though it lists only cultivars from those nurseries
that subscribe to the website. Ian created a do-it-yourself heather
garden design program for the website, described by David in
Heathers 1 (2004) and more extensively by Glenda Alexander in
Heather News Quarterly (2005).
There’s probably not a heather enthusiast in the world who would
not have welcomed a visit by David and Anne Small. Not only
were they good company and easy to please, but we all relished the
opportunity to pick David’s brain and get his advice. David was
the lead speaker at the 2002 NAHS conference, in Nanaimo, BC.
David and Anne took advantage of being in the Pacific Northwest
to visit a number of other heather growers after the conference,
and they spent a few days with my husband, Barry, and me in
Philomath. Naturally, I was pleased to show him my then-veryyoung heather garden, and when he asked the cultivar name of a
deep pink Erica cinerea, I told him the name on the plants’ label,
‘Splendens’. “Well,” he replied. “I don’t know what it is, but it
isn’t ‘Splendens’.” Had I bothered to look up the description of
‘Splendens’ in the Handy Guide instead of relying upon the photo
on the label, I would have realized that.
If David Small couldn’t recognize the cultivar, it’s a good bet that
nobody else can, either. It’s close to ‘Knap Hill Pink’ in color
and habit – but not quite. (‘Knap Hill Pink’ was blooming in the
garden when David and Anne visited, and David had no problem
with that one.) David corrected many labelling errors during
his visits to North American gardens. His ability to distinguish
among similar heather cultivars was phenomenal.
Barry and I took David and Anne to the Oregon Coast to look at
the naturalized heathers along the old 804 Trail in Yachats. They
Winter 2011
17
This network of contacts enabled David to put together a wonderful
post-conference tour of Dutch and German nurseries for the first
international heather conference (2000). To say that he provided
service was an understatement. I flew to Schiphol Airport,
Amsterdam. David picked several of us North American members
up at the airport (in a van already loaded with THS members from
Britain), delivered us to the conference hotel north of Hamburg,
drove us on the nursery tour after the conference, and dropped us
off back at Schiphol for our flights home. I don’t know if I would
have had the courage to do all this without David’s carefully made
arrangements. I know that I certainly wouldn’t have gotten to all
those great nurseries without him.
E. Charles Nelson has provided me with still further insight into
the contributions made by David and Anne to the heather world.
“Throughout the nineties and into the middle of the ‘noughties’,
David and Anne worked tirelessly for The Heather Society. From
his retirement [from British Telecom] until quite recently, David
spent almost all of his time on heathers and the society and its
activities. As a team, the Smalls produced its major publications,
maintained the membership list and website, and also propagated
young plants for the cultivar distribution scheme. I can remember
going to Denbeigh to work on the international register with
David; and while we were editing on the computer, Anne was
at the kitchen table inserting hundreds of cuttings, meanwhile
preparing and serving lunch. The Heather Society was a ‘cottage
industry’ based at Denbeigh, with Anne and David as its ‘invisible’
dynamo.”
If one reads the preamble to Volume 1 of the International Register
of Heather Names, which summarizes the history of the register,
one comes across the following sentence. “This checklist is
derived directly from a computerised database that was devised
and is managed by D. J. Small.” As Jean Julian mentioned [HQ
Fall 2010, p.2], David’s computer skills were substantial, and in
addition to devising the computerized database, David, with
his son, Ian, created the award-winning website for The Heather
Society (heathersociety.org.uk/) and wrote an excellent article titled
16
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heather cultivars (and a few Cape heaths in the 2001 edition) and
nurseries where they could be purchased, in Britain and elsewhere,
made the Handy Guide, as it is generally known, the “bible” of
heather enthusiasts. I still keep the 3rd edition of the Handy Guide
(2001) sitting next to my computer, along with the International
Register of Heather Names, Volume 1 that David compiled with E.
Charles Nelson (2000). I refer to both frequently and would be
lost without them.
Richard Canovan provided me with insight into the origins of
the Handy Guide. “You may like to know that from 1 January
1983, David made available a ‘Free Cultivar Enquiry Service’. THS
members were invited to write to him, giving the cultivar name
and their hardiness zone, enclosing a self-addressed stamped
envelope. David would send them a list of nurserymen in their
zone who sold that cultivar. Nurserymen members were invited to
make similar trade enquiries. This was announced in the Autumn
1982 Bulletin of The Heather Society 3:7. “That is just one example of how he helped heather society
members – both ordinary and nurserymen. I think it should be
mentioned, as it is not in a Yearbook of The Heather Society so may be
forgotten. It was not a non-event: it quickly revealed that people
had difficulty getting cultivars he had thought were widespread,
so he asked nurserymen for a list of their cultivars. You can see
here the embryo of the Handy Guide and the franchise [whereby
members could purchase through THS cultivars not available from
British nurseries, a service now discontinued].”
The above-mentioned franchise was one of the most important
services of The Heather Society, one that members in the United
States could not utilize, regrettably, because of agricultural
import restrictions. David had built up a series of relationships
with heather growers on the Continent, and he travelled to their
nurseries to retrieve plants of requested cultivars. He and Anne
also propagated heathers for the cultivar distribution scheme (see
Charles Nelson’s comments below).
Continued page 16
Winter 2011
13
The vibrant color
assortment of
naturalized heathers
along the 804 trail
in Yachats, Oregon
led David Small to
suggest that this
area was receiving a
constant infusion of
new seed from nearby
cultivated heathers.
Phyllodoce caerulea (blue
mountain heath) native
to the Pacific Northwest.
Photo by Art P. Dome
Phyllodoce empetriformis
from Mt. Joseph, Oregon.
Photo by Art P. Dome
Photos by Barry Wulff
Even David Small
couldn’t identify this E.
cinerea cultivar in the
Wulff garden that was
purchased as ‘Splendens’
but obviously isn’t.
C. selaginoides x C. lycopodioides ‘Stormbird’ is one of the easiest
cassiopes to grow in the garden and is a prolific bloomer. It does
have some blossoms in the fall some years.
Photo by Karla Lortz.
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Winter 2011
15