LILIES - RHS Lily Group

The initial task was to transfer, long-hand, all 23 000 daffodil cultivar names
from Moore’s “Modern Method of Filing” (1950s?) on to index cards: this later
formed the basis of the computerized Daffodil Checklist (1989). Earlier daffodil
classifications had to be up-dated and the colour-coding system incorporated.
Working with a horticultural classification system which has been evolving since
1908, has helped me understand present lily classification. There were later
spells as Assistant Editor for the RHS and Head Gardener for London House for
Overseas Graduates, before we moved to Scotland.
Over the next 15 years I looked after the family and made gardens, and
developed our collection of pre-1930 daffodil cultivars. Collecting, cultivating
and maintaining detailed records on a database is ongoing. An occasional stint in
the RBG library invariably unearths illustrations (invaluable for the identification
of cultivars) and further nuggets of useful information – as it turns out, ideal
experience for lily registration work. Old daffodils have been identified for both
National Trusts, private estates and individuals.
We have lived barely two years on the croft, where the majestic stems of
Cardiocrinum giganteum are immense, although vulnerable to summer gales.
To help us get to know the genus better, we intend to grow as wide a range of
lilies here as possible, given the constraints of time (bringing rough pasture into
cultivation is a gradual process), climate (very wet, very windy, but relatively
mild), and soil (the raised-beach portion, derived from Torridonian sandstone, is
stony, extremely acid, but surprisingly fertile).
Our predecessor, Vicki Matthews, who has postponed retirement in order to
work tirelessly on the completion of the fourth edition of the International Lily
Register, was full-time, being both lily and clematis registrar. When we asked
the RHS whether we could submit a joint application to job-share, the Society
kindly consented. It is immensely reassuring to have an in-house colleague who
has decades of experience running an office. Although Duncan is principally
the registrar for clematis, lilies generate more work, so he works on lilies too:
for instance, he has written the lion’s share of the lily descriptions for the 1 st
Supplement of the new Register; tends to deal with computer-related issues and
ensures the smooth day-to-day running of our “office”.
We value our registration work highly: it is not only our source of income, but
enables us to keep a foot in the busy world which most people inhabit. Through
working for the RHS we have reinvigorated old friendships and hope to forge
new ones. We look forward to corresponding with lily and clematis enthusiasts.
Twenty years ago, the daffodil registrar’s office was a table in the far reaches
of the stack room of the original Lindley Library, beneath a grimy window to
which clung sooty remnants of war-time black-out tape, with views of dreary but
imposing tower blocks. Today, I look towards the sweeping mountain-scape
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