Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Galanthus => Topic started by: mark smyth on October 25, 2014, 12:38:51 PM
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Very sad news that Margaret Owen died during the night. She hasn't been well following heart surgery a couple of months ago
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Oh dear, this is bad news indeed. Margaret Owen was clearly one of the snowdrop greats and to lose both her and Ruby Baker in such a short period is very sad.
I suppose we always hope for the best when someone is ill but it is not given for all good wishes to be rewarded.
I know that Mark had really enjoyed his visits to the Owen Garden and helping out with snowdrop days there and will be sorry to lose a good friend.
Mrs Owen will be sorely missed and I am sure we all sent our kindest condolences to her Family.
How lovely that we had such nice reports from what turned out to be her final Snowdrop Day (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11457.0) earlier this year. Here are two photos of Margaret in her garden this year
[attachimg=1]
-with her visitors- this photo from Richard Williams
[attachimg=2]
and this photo of Margaret with her good friend, Jim Almond, from Ross Barbour
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Here's a photo of Margaret Glynn, left, and Margaret Owen
[attachimg=1]
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Mark, that is a delightful photo of these two fine plantswomen. Margaret Glynn has her snowdrop collection in Northern Ireland.
The marvellous Margaret Owen was famous for her super garden near Shrewsbury, which she opened every winter to give people the chance to see her very special snowdrop collection at the same time as raising money for charity, mostly for research into Multiple Sclerosis. The garden was of interest at other times as well, of course, but it was the galanthus collection which drew many visitors.
Fittingly, Margaret is immortalised in "her" Galanthus 'Margaret Owen' as is her late husband, remembered by G. ‘Godfrey Owen’
[attachimg=1]
This photo of 'Godfrey Owen' is from Mark Smyth's "Snowdropinfo" website
[attachimg=2]
Photo of Margaret Owen in her garden in 2012, by Ian Christie
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Margaret needs a better snowdrop than one that is named after her
https://www.flickr.com/photos/evolution-plants/5370000419/ (https://www.flickr.com/photos/evolution-plants/5370000419/)
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One more photo from the first time I visited England for snowdrop events way back in 2004 - the Gala, Margaret Owen's lunch and open day and Veronica Cross' lunch
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Very sad news indeed, she will be missed in our little 'snowdropworld'.
Mark and Maggi, thank you for showing the pictures.
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Such sad news
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Sad times
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Thank you Margaret for the pleasures you have shared with us Rest in peace, and God Bless
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Let me tell you a couple of things that happened when I first met Margaret Owen.
You'll all know she made fabulous cakes for her lunches and open days. The minute I met her for the first time she thrust £20 in to my hand and said "go to Sainsbury's as fast as you can I've run out of plain chocolate". I'd never been to Shrewsbury before. I said I have no idea where it is or how to find my way back to your house. "Just go and get me the chocolate I need it now!" So off I went asking people and trying to remember how to get back.
Next morning we are up early. The two Margarets, O and G, have been up since 4am making cakes, soups and stews. As soon as I appear she thrusts car mats and a dust pan and brush in my hand and says "Go clean my car and put in the new mats". I went outside to have a look and go back inside. I said I never clean my own car and it's filthy. Your car is by far worse and I refuse to do it. "You'll do it immediately" Was the reply
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Nice story of a real feminist ! :)
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Hello all, we have indeed lost a very special lady who dedicated her energy to grow so many plants Galanthus was only one of her collections, I remember meeting her for the first time at Chelsea a good few years ago with John Massey we had a wonderful time and about 4 or 5 years ago she drove all the way to here stayed with us and we went snowdrop hunting at Brechin castle sheer magic, cheers Ian the Christie kind
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Margaret was also hosting one of the RHS sponsored trials of hardy nerines, she was instrumental in getting this trial to take place & her energy, drive & generosity were remarkable.
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That is so sad, her loss will be felt in many areas of the gardening world.
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I first met Margaret Owen as a fellow guest, at one of Richard Nutt's snowdrop lunches. We happened to sit next to one another, and started talking snowdrops. I soon realized that I was being "taught" how to grow then, and was rapidly instructed that snowdrops did not grow well in aquatic baskets. Fortunately I soon met Sue and Wol Staines who confirmed that there might be other points of view. I gave her a clump of my own October flowering G. elwesii "Hollis" about 14 years ago, and I was pleased when she phoned last spring to confirm the name, because she was selling a lot of this bulb for her Multiple Sclerosis sale, and she told me that this bulb, flowering now, was the "best of the hiemalis group" and had made significant money for her charitable work.
I loved her enthusiasm, and made so many snowdrop friends on visits to her snowdrop lunches over the years. She will be very sadly missed by her friends, but if all of us could die after having contributed to so much pleasure to our friends, we should be well pleased.
Dowling Munro
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The 2007 Galanthus Gala was held near Shrewsbury and was meant to include a visit to Margaret Owen's garden in the afternoon. Unfortunately there was a few inches of snow that day so the visit could not take place as all the snowdrops were buried under it. My wife and I had decided to spend the weekend in Shrewsbury and the following day, Sunday, was bright and sunny and warmer. We explored the area in the morning, had lunch, and by then the snow had more-or-less melted away. Purely on spec. I went back to Margaret's garden that afternoon to find that some others had got there a little before me and were being shown round. I was a bit hesitant but Margaret welcomed me to join her tour and spent the next hour or so guiding us round her garden and her snowdrops. Unfortunately this was so involving for me that the fact that I had left my wife sitting in the car slipped to the back of my mind. By the time I returned she had got very cold indeed and my ratings in an opinion poll of one had slipped to very low indeed. There followed a rather silent drive home to Cambridgeshire with the car heater full-on. But for me it was a demonstration of quite how captivating Margaret could be when talking about the plants she loved.
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Not Only was Margaret a great snowdrop grower, she was also a great lily grower, often contributing superbly grown bulbs to the annual lily group bulb auction. She often brough rare sp that where often simply unobtainalbe and unavailable in nurseries due to their rarity.
Last year I had a long chat with her about an intriguing lily she had brought along, in full bloom. We came to the conclusion that it might have been a natural hybrid between lilium henryi and lilium rosthornii, as the leaves where close to henryi and the flowers more like rosthornii....
Yet another great plantswoman sadly lost,
here she is with her mystery lily
Pontus
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An indomitable reputation I'd heard, yet when I briefly spoke to Margaret at the Exbury NAAS visit two years ago she was engaging & amiable.
I expect, like Mark, many people will have a tale or two of amusing encounters with Margaret.
I wish I'd known her better.
A great loss.
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Margaret Owen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ1wgqw8EA4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ1wgqw8EA4)
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Thank you Mark.
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Emma T. has provided this link to a Telegraph obituary for Margaret Owen:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11213044/Margaret-Owen-obituary.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11213044/Margaret-Owen-obituary.html)
A fitting and rather poignant reminder of the lady.
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Why cant my Camassias look lime that!?
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Margaret Owen's memorial service will be held in Acton Burnell Church on November 15th at 2pm. There will be a marquee reception at the son's house afterwards - the big house opposite the Patch
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.613113,-2.692823,15z (https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.613113,-2.692823,15z)
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I find that John Grimshaw had posted a blog on 16th November, in remembrance of Margaret Owen - the piece is headed with a super photo of the lady- a fine way to remember her.
http://johngrimshawsgardendiary.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/margaret-owen-mbe-1930-2014.html (http://johngrimshawsgardendiary.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/margaret-owen-mbe-1930-2014.html)