George Bunyard

George Bunyard (born February 5, 1841 in Maidstone , England, † January 22, 1919 ) was a British gardener , pomologist and businessman . His sons were Edward Ashdown (1878-1939) and George Norman Bunyrad (1886-1969),

Bunyard began his work as a plant dealer in his father's shop, Thomas Bunyard (~ 1804–1880), in 1855, where he dealt with seeds. At that time the business was a purely local plant trade. Since 1863 George worked as an official partner with him operation. The situation only changed in 1869, when George's father moved the business to nearby Allington and re-established it on 20 acres (≈ 8 hectares) of land.

The Bunyard Nurserys were one of the premier plant breeders in the UK of its time, winning numerous awards at shows and competitions. Among other things, the company supplied the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. The best-known varieties that Bunyard introduced include the raspberry superlative , and the apples Allington Pippin , Lady Sudeley , Market Favorite , Gascoyne's Scarlet , Hambling Seedling , Grenadier and Graham's Jubilee Apple . He had two sons with his wife, Katherina Sophie Ashdown.

When George Bunyard died, the Royal Nurseries had expanded to 166 acres. His sons Edward Ashdown and George Norman continued the business. Edward Ashdown Bunyard in particular distinguished himself as an author and organizer like his father. Later, in 1960, the nursery was sold to AkzoNobel , who left it fallow until 2013. In the meantime, a veritable wilderness has developed there, known locally as the Bridge Nursery . The area is intended for development, but according to some city councils and citizens of Allington it should no longer be built on for nature conservation reasons.

Bunyard also worked outside of his own operations. He headed the "Fruit Conference" in Edinburgh in 1886. In 1890, Bunyard was the driving force behind a large fruit exhibition in the London Guildhall, for which the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers awarded him the status of Freeman of the City of London . In 1896 he became a Master of the Worshipful Company. In the Royal Horticultural Society , Bunyard sat on the council of the organization for ten years.

As an author, Bunyard first wrote the catalogs for his own company. He also published Fruit Farming for Profit and The Fruit Garden , contributed to the Century Book of Gardening , and wrote articles in the Gardeners' Chronicle .

The Royal Horticultural Society awarded him the Victoria Medal of Honor for his life's work as a breeder and organizer . He belonged to the group of the first 60 honored people who received this medal at the same time in 1897.

Remarks

1. ↑ Angela Cole: Nursery must be saved ( Memento of the original from November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Kent Online February 26, 2013  

literature

• Obituary George Bunyard in: The Gardener's Chronicle, February 1, 1919