Emily Stevens
Encyclopedia
Emily Jean Stevens was a world leading iris hybridiser in the 1940s and 1950s, famous for creating the "Pinnacle" iris as well as a number of other outstanding amoenas.
, to Alfred Henry Burgess and Fanny Eleanor Hollard who were farming in the area. Her parents later grew fruit and flowers at Kaiti, Gisborne
, and Jean attended Kaiti School, winning a scholarship in 1913. The next year Jean's family moved to Auckland
where she briefly attended Auckland Girls’ Grammar School before the family shifted again to Waikanae
in 1915. She then stayed home to care for her youngest sister, educating her until standard one, while also working in the family’s new bulb-growing and cut-flower business.
, and in 1923 their propagation and sale became Jean’s responsibility. She quickly and skillfully began to create improved and novel varieties of these irises. She was informed in this by a paper of English enthusiast A. J. Bliss on the matter of making successful crosses, and after joining the Iris Society (later the British Iris Society) in 1928 she sent selections to overseas hybridisers for assessment. Her first success in terms of overseas recognition was the "Destiny" hybrid. Geoffrey Pilkington, secretary of the Iris Society, encouraged its release on the British market and in 1934 it became the first southern hemisphere-bred iris to receive the society’s bronze medal.
Jean met Wallace Rex Stevens, a partner in Stevens Brothers nursery, Bulls
, at a flower show in 1935, and the couple married on 22 February 1936 at Otaki
. They had one child, Jocelyn, in 1937, and the same year the first Stevens Brothers catalogue of bearded irises was issued. Three of Jean’s irises received awards of merit from the Royal Horticultural Society
between 1936 and 1939. Another, "Inspiration", attracted the attention of noted American iris hybridiser Robert Schreiner, who introduced a selection of her cultivars to the American market.
. Here Jean started expanding the colour range in tall bearded irises of the amoena group – those with white standards and violet, violet-blue or purple falls. When "Pinnacle", an outstanding white and yellow amoena, was introduced in 1949 Stevens gained international recognition, and the iris became one of the most popular in the world. The American Iris Society (1951) and the Royal Horticultural Society (1959) both granted Stevens an award of merit for its creation. Jean subsequently produced amoenas with deeper yellow, pale blue, plum-red and pink falls.
Stevens' writings appeared in New Zealand
gardening magazines and in iris publications overseas, and in 1952 her handbook "The iris and its culture" was published in Australia
. She was a foundation member of the Australian Iris Society in 1948, and in June 1949 she became federal president of the renamed Australian and New Zealand Iris Society, although administrative difficulties resulted in her recommending separation in November. She founded the New Zealand Iris Society with C. A. Teschner and D’Arcy Blackburn in 1949 and was made president, an office she held for 2 years until 1951, and again later from 1956-1957. Stevens was the editor of the New Zealand Iris Society for 10 years and was elected a life member in 1959. She was also registrar of New Zealand cultivars from 1957 until her death.
Stevens was awarded The British Iris Society's prestigious Foster Memorial Plaque in 1953, and received the American Iris Society’s hybridisers’ medal in 1955. Between 1949 and 1961 her cultivars achieved two American awards of merit and six honourable mentions. She was guest speaker at the American society’s annual convention in 1956 and was appointed an honorary judge in 1962. Jean and Wallace Stevens were also New Zealand pioneers in utilising flora from across Australasia
and South Africa
, especially proteas and leucadendron
, for large-scale cut-flower production. Jean made the first known crosses between Leucadendron laureolum and Leucadendron salignum, and her son-in-law Ian Bell (who joined the partnership around 1961), at her suggestion, instituted a more extensive hybridisation programme in 1962–63 that yielded the important flower export "Safari Sunset". Between 1961 and 1963 the Stevenses faced losing part of their land to a proposed primary school, but an appeal supported by horticultural authorities in New Zealand and overseas was successfully upheld. The Queen Mother
asked to visit the Stevens’ gardens during her 1966 tour and reportedly left ‘with an armful of slips and cuttings’.
Early in 1967 Stevens was elected an associate of honour of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture
. In the same year her pink amoena "Sunset Snows" took third place at an international iris competition in Florence
and won cups for the best early variety and for the most original colour, the first time a prize in the competition had gone to the southern hemisphere
and the first time one cultivar had collected three prizes.
Childhood
Emily Jean Stevens, made famous for her contributions to iris hybridisation, was born Emily Jean Burgess (she was always known as Jean) on 3 September 1900 at Stratford, New ZealandStratford, New Zealand
Stratford is the only town in the central Taranaki district of Stratford District, New Zealand. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki/Egmont, approximately half-way between New Plymouth and Hawera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki region. The town has a population of...
, to Alfred Henry Burgess and Fanny Eleanor Hollard who were farming in the area. Her parents later grew fruit and flowers at Kaiti, Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
, and Jean attended Kaiti School, winning a scholarship in 1913. The next year Jean's family moved to Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
where she briefly attended Auckland Girls’ Grammar School before the family shifted again to Waikanae
Waikanae
Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand....
in 1915. She then stayed home to care for her youngest sister, educating her until standard one, while also working in the family’s new bulb-growing and cut-flower business.
Cultivating Her Skills
In 1921 Alfred Burgess imported some hybrid cultivars of tall bearded irisIris (plant)
Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species...
, and in 1923 their propagation and sale became Jean’s responsibility. She quickly and skillfully began to create improved and novel varieties of these irises. She was informed in this by a paper of English enthusiast A. J. Bliss on the matter of making successful crosses, and after joining the Iris Society (later the British Iris Society) in 1928 she sent selections to overseas hybridisers for assessment. Her first success in terms of overseas recognition was the "Destiny" hybrid. Geoffrey Pilkington, secretary of the Iris Society, encouraged its release on the British market and in 1934 it became the first southern hemisphere-bred iris to receive the society’s bronze medal.
Jean met Wallace Rex Stevens, a partner in Stevens Brothers nursery, Bulls
Bulls
Bulls may refer to:*Bulls, the male of cattle*Bulls, New Zealand, Rangitikei township*Papal bulls, a charter issued by a popeIn sports:*Bulls , a rugby union franchise operated by the Blue Bulls...
, at a flower show in 1935, and the couple married on 22 February 1936 at Otaki
Otaki
Otaki may refer to:*Ōtaki , a parliamentary electorate in New Zealand*Otaki, New Zealand, a town in New Zealand*Otaki River, a river in New Zealand*Ōtaki, Chiba, a town in Japan*Ōtaki, Saitama, a former village in Japan...
. They had one child, Jocelyn, in 1937, and the same year the first Stevens Brothers catalogue of bearded irises was issued. Three of Jean’s irises received awards of merit from the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
between 1936 and 1939. Another, "Inspiration", attracted the attention of noted American iris hybridiser Robert Schreiner, who introduced a selection of her cultivars to the American market.
World Recognition
In 1945 Jean and Wallace moved the business to Bastia Hill, WanganuiWanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
. Here Jean started expanding the colour range in tall bearded irises of the amoena group – those with white standards and violet, violet-blue or purple falls. When "Pinnacle", an outstanding white and yellow amoena, was introduced in 1949 Stevens gained international recognition, and the iris became one of the most popular in the world. The American Iris Society (1951) and the Royal Horticultural Society (1959) both granted Stevens an award of merit for its creation. Jean subsequently produced amoenas with deeper yellow, pale blue, plum-red and pink falls.
Stevens' writings appeared in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
gardening magazines and in iris publications overseas, and in 1952 her handbook "The iris and its culture" was published in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. She was a foundation member of the Australian Iris Society in 1948, and in June 1949 she became federal president of the renamed Australian and New Zealand Iris Society, although administrative difficulties resulted in her recommending separation in November. She founded the New Zealand Iris Society with C. A. Teschner and D’Arcy Blackburn in 1949 and was made president, an office she held for 2 years until 1951, and again later from 1956-1957. Stevens was the editor of the New Zealand Iris Society for 10 years and was elected a life member in 1959. She was also registrar of New Zealand cultivars from 1957 until her death.
Stevens was awarded The British Iris Society's prestigious Foster Memorial Plaque in 1953, and received the American Iris Society’s hybridisers’ medal in 1955. Between 1949 and 1961 her cultivars achieved two American awards of merit and six honourable mentions. She was guest speaker at the American society’s annual convention in 1956 and was appointed an honorary judge in 1962. Jean and Wallace Stevens were also New Zealand pioneers in utilising flora from across Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, especially proteas and leucadendron
Leucadendron
Leucadendron is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, endemic to South Africa, where they are a prominent part of the fynbos ecoregion and vegetation type.-Description:...
, for large-scale cut-flower production. Jean made the first known crosses between Leucadendron laureolum and Leucadendron salignum, and her son-in-law Ian Bell (who joined the partnership around 1961), at her suggestion, instituted a more extensive hybridisation programme in 1962–63 that yielded the important flower export "Safari Sunset". Between 1961 and 1963 the Stevenses faced losing part of their land to a proposed primary school, but an appeal supported by horticultural authorities in New Zealand and overseas was successfully upheld. The Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
asked to visit the Stevens’ gardens during her 1966 tour and reportedly left ‘with an armful of slips and cuttings’.
Early in 1967 Stevens was elected an associate of honour of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture
Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture
The Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture is New Zealand's only National Horticultural Society.Their mission is to "Encourage and improve horticulture in New Zealand by promoting the understanding, appreciation, conservation and use of plants"....
. In the same year her pink amoena "Sunset Snows" took third place at an international iris competition in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and won cups for the best early variety and for the most original colour, the first time a prize in the competition had gone to the southern hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
and the first time one cultivar had collected three prizes.