History Archives - Bennetts Waterlily Plants

This week one hundred years ago saw Dr. Robert Kirk Strawn born into the world.

During the 1990’s he was a prolific hybridiser of new waterlilies, releasing exciting new varieties to the market which are still cherished to this day, some of which can be seen in the gallery below. This was a golden age of waterlily hybridising between Kirk and his rival, and good friend, Perry Slocum.

You can read more about the remarkable like of Kirk Strawn on the International Waterlily & Water Gardening Society website.

Kirk Strawn (left) with Norman Bennett in Texas

Bill Heritage was involved with water gardening for many years, working at a specialist water garden centre in Enfield. He was an author of many pond and water gardening books and also lectured on the subject.

Bill joined Stewarts of Ferndown, Dorset, general horticulturists, in 1949, and gradually was able to indulge his love of water gardening. He met Norman Bennett at Weymouth in Dorset who had just given up teaching to do the same; they became friends then, never thought of competing, and remain friends in their retirement. During the intervening years, this duo assisted several of the UK’s most distinguished botanic gardens to sort out the proper identities of waterlilies in their collections.
by Irene Heritage victoria-adventure.org