Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

General Subjects => The Archibald Archive => Topic started by: Maggi Young on August 09, 2010, 09:55:21 PM

Title: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 09, 2010, 09:55:21 PM
It is my sad duty to tell you of the death, this afternoon 9th August 2010, of the great plantsman Jim Archibald.
His wife and fellow plant hunter, Jenny has their family with her at this very sad time and I know you will all join with us in sending our condolences to them.

Jim had been ill for some time and in spite of early signs that treatment was succesfull, latterly his health had been failing.

There can scarcely be a single person with an interest in alpine plants and bulbs who is not growing plants derived from the world wide seed collections of the Archibalds , either directly from seed from Jim and Jenny's seed business JJA Seeds, or from that seed grown on by a multiplicity of nurseries across the world.
 The extent of their travels and the scope of their seed introductions is quite enormous.  Both with a great eye for a good plant and the determination to travel far and work hard to collect seed, Jim and Jenny made a formidable team.

Jim  could court controversy with his forthright opinions,often expounded in their seed lists but this was to be expected of an opinionated Scotsman..... it's in the job description really!
 From the 1960s Jim was sending seed and sometimes live material by airmail  to that great Aberdeen grower, the late Harold Esslemont, who had tremendous respect for Jim's considered approach to planthunting and for the fine plants found and also for the teamwork displayed by Jenny.

An example of live plants sent to Harold  is the Saxifraga named for  his friend,another giant  in the plant world, Per Wendelbo, Saxifraga wendelboi.
Another "Archibald plant"  is  Muscari mcbeathianum, named for another Scot, Ron McBeath...... the list could go on and on.
The Archibalds had Dionysia archibaldii named in their honour... befittingly it is one of the  gems of that genus.

I can think of no better way to recall the contribution that Jim and Jenny have made as plantsfolk  or to introduce them to anyone who knows nothing of them than to suggest that you read the chapter in Bobby Ward's book "The Plant Hunter's Garden: The New Explorers and Their Discoveries".
The chapter is titled " What are seeds but dreams in packets" and this could surely sum up the work of Jim and Jenny.

Many people will have had the pleasure of hearing Jim give talks on their work, inspiring the audience with tales of their exploits and it had been hoped that Jim would be well enough to give a talk at the Alpines 2011 Conference in April next year. Sadly this cannot be but still there are those thousands of plants growing around the world, giving joy to thousands of gardeners and Jim's legacy as the inspiration for so very many of the Plant Hunters that have followed in his footsteps to keep his name alive.
Jim and Jenny were a couple with firm friends and admirers in all corners of the world and all will feel Jim's loss and sorrow for Jenny at this time.

For Jenny and their daughter and son, of course, their  loss is of a dearly loved husband and partner and a loving father : we can only hope that the family can take a little comfort in knowing the level of respect and admiration in which Jim is regarded by so many.

Jim will be sadly missed.


I take the liberty of posting this photo of Jim and Jenny , taken by Bobby Ward

[attachimg=1]

 and this photo is of Jim Archibald with Michael Kammerlander and Ian Young at an SRGC Discussion weekend a couple of years ago....
[attachimg=2]




Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: ashley on August 09, 2010, 10:21:42 PM
What very sad news.  My thoughts go to Jenny and family.
Thank you for this warm tribute to Jim on behalf of us all Maggi.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Hillview croconut on August 09, 2010, 10:46:58 PM
Vale Jim, all my kind thoughts to Jenny, and end to a glorious era, the likes we will never see again, Marcus
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Lesley Cox on August 09, 2010, 11:55:27 PM
I'd like to put on record my own deep sorrow at Jim's passing. I was privileged to meet him and Jenny in New Zealand just a few years ago at an NZAGS Study weekend and remember vividly the wonderful lectures he gave, the advice and experiences shared with such generosity.

I and so many others who have rock-gardened for many years have perhaps been a part of a golden age when new plants were available quite freely and our gardens were enriched with treasures beyond price or monetary value. Many recent indications are that this age is ending or has already done so and Jim's death seems somehow, to confirm this.

I send all good wishes to Jenny and her family. I doubt if ant plant collector/introducer has been held in greater affection or respect by those whose lives he and his plants touched.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: ArnoldT on August 10, 2010, 01:07:28 AM
I didn't personally know Jim Archibald, but  feel like I got to know through  his seed list.  I kept all of them.  My condolences to all his family.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Ezeiza on August 10, 2010, 02:10:18 AM
Sad day for all plant lovers. I had the chance to meet them here in Buenos Aires. You could speak with them for weeks on end. The immense research work they have done over the years can not be possibly measured.

Our condolences to Jenny and the children.

Alberto Castillo
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Rogan on August 10, 2010, 09:18:59 AM
I was thinking of them just yesterday when I snapped this picture of a 'petuniod' Narcissus grown from their seed:   :'(
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: fermi de Sousa on August 10, 2010, 09:51:27 AM
Very sad news indeed.
A great loss to all the gardening community, especially the Rockers.
He will be remembered as Rogan has pointed out whenever we see "his" plants.
Condolences to Jenny and the children.
cheers
fermi
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: arillady on August 10, 2010, 10:07:55 AM
So sad to hear this news. May his seeds grown by gardeners around the world be reminders of a fine plantsperson.
My heartfelt sympathies to Jenny and family.
Like Arnold I have kept all the wonderful seedlists.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Ragged Robin on August 10, 2010, 10:39:05 AM
Quote
I can think of no better way to recall the contribution that Jim and Jenny have made as plantsfolk  or to introduce them to anyone who knows nothing of them than to suggest that you read the chapter in Bobby Ward's book "The Plant Hunter's Garden: The New Explorers and Their Discoveries".
The chapter is titled " What are seeds but dreams in packets" and this could surely sum up the work of Jim and Jenny.

Through his own words quoted in this book, whilst in the field, one can get a feeling for the strength of character and love of what he is observing of a great Explorer and Seed Collector.  Thank you Maggi for posting this link and introducing me to the magnificent and dedicated contribution Jim and Jenny Archibald have made through their life's work. What an amazing partnership and legacy. My thoughts are with Jenny and her family at this time.

Lucky are those who have cultivated dreams, like Rogan, from their seeds.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: David Nicholson on August 10, 2010, 12:20:16 PM
Sad news indeed, a wonderful plantsman who will be sadly missed. My sympathies to the family.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Otto Fauser on August 10, 2010, 02:53:12 PM
Goodbye Jim,
   my kind thoughts and love to Jenny. Jim will live on in my garden with so many of his rare and choice introductions . We first met in London in 1961 at the International Rockgarden Conference and kept in touch ever since . what a pleasure it was to meet Jim and Jenny a few years ago in Christchurch , NZ.

                 Otto.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: alpines on August 10, 2010, 03:17:58 PM
Sincere condolences to the Archibald family. Jim will go down in the annals of the great plantsmen of alpine gardening. A true loss to a worldwide community.

Alan & Sherba
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Darren on August 10, 2010, 03:34:51 PM
Very sad news. My condolences to his family. Like many of you I have lots of plants from Jim & Jenny's seed offerings and will remember Jim whenever I look at them.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Luc Gilgemyn on August 10, 2010, 05:00:53 PM
Such sad news !
Couldn't add anything to all the above !
My sympathies to his family and countless friends !
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: ichristie on August 10, 2010, 05:13:23 PM
A great loss to us all but Jim will live on around the world all his seed he collected was his life a tribute to a very special person. our thoughts to his family,  cheers Ian the Christie kind.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Liz Mills on August 10, 2010, 09:40:21 PM
So sad to hear the news of Jim's death but know that his memory will live long through the plants so many of us have grown from Archibald seed.  I too have kept all the seed lists.  My thoughts are with Jenny and the family.  Liz
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: vivienne Condon on August 11, 2010, 01:21:11 AM
I have never posted on the forum before but hearing of the loss of Jim Archibald is just too sad for words and prompted me to add my condolences to Jenny and the children. What a great loss to the plant world in general. The end of an era. Viv Condon
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Lesley Cox on August 11, 2010, 03:07:47 AM
Hello Viv, a very sad way to begin life on the Forum so I hope this won't be your last post! Sorry about the Last Post. Just heard it played for our first soldier killed in Afghanistan, his funeral here, today.
I'm looking forward to a few days with Otto next month and hope I can see you too, and other Victorian friends.

Best wishes

Lesley
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Janis Ruksans on August 11, 2010, 06:42:33 PM
I was in frequent contacts with Jim this summer. Jim hardly hoped to live up to winter, so many to do he had. Good only that this happened quickly, without pain. In any case it is very great loss of very great man. I'm really happy that I had possibility to take part in our common trip this spring, the last for Jim. We talked about his visit to my place next spring... He allways will stay in my memory with his optimism, knowledge, involvment in gardening. Last night I awakened and couldn't more sleep - I thought about Jim, recolled in memory our meetings, his speaking way, house and garden and of course - plants. And I'm happy that I named in his honor new Crocus which will be published this winter in my coming monograph. As knowing that it will come out too late - I sent to Jim in June printout of pages with description of this crocus.
I decided to give cultivars name to one of Crocuses collected during our common trip  - Crocus hittiticus 'Jim'.
Sleep in peace!
Janis
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 11, 2010, 07:01:25 PM
The Funeral  of Jim Archibald will take place on Monday 16th August at 1.30 p.m at Aberystwyth Crematorium  
Clarach Road
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
SY23 3DG


Family flowers only, please.

Donations, if so desired, to the Beacon of Hope or Wales Air Ambulance.
Details from funeral director Alun M. Esau on 01239 654240.(or see notes in next post)

Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 11, 2010, 07:06:56 PM
Aberystwyth Crematorium -address and directions

Clarach Road
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
SY23 3DG

Tel: 01970 626942
Fax: 01970 611765

 DIRECTIONS

By Car

From the South A487 Aberystwyth.
As you leave Aberystwyth head north towards Machynlleth (A487). Having passed Hospital and University on the right. Continue up the hill and when you reach the top take first turning left onto the B4572 (signposted Clarach) for approximately half a mile. Crematorium is situated on right hand side.

From the North A487
as you approach Aberystywth turn right onto the B4572 for approximately half a mile. Crematorium is situated on left hand side.

Travelling from Mid Wales
approaching Aberystwyth on the A44. As you enter Llanbadarn Fawr, you will pass a petrol station on the left. 1st mini roundabout take 2nd exit, continue up hill passing College of Further Education on right, continue to top of hill turn left, continue to end turn right and immediate left onto B4572. Crematorium is situated on right hand side.

By Rail
Main train station Aberystwyth with links from the midlands, approx 2 miles from crematorium. Taxi rank opposite exit of station.

Notes which may be of assistance: 

‘The Beacon of Hope’ is a hospice association-
http://www.thebeaconofhope.org.uk/ (http://www.thebeaconofhope.org.uk/)
 
If you would like to send  a one-off donation please send a cheque made out to ‘The Beacon of Hope’ to Dinah Jamieson, The Beacon of Hope, 10 Baker St, Aberystwyth SY23 2BJ.

http://www.thebeaconofhope.org.uk/volunteers/sponsor_form.pdf (http://www.thebeaconofhope.org.uk/volunteers/sponsor_form.pdf)


To support the Wales Air Ambulance Service:
http://www.walesairambulance.com/index.php?page=donate (http://www.walesairambulance.com/index.php?page=donate)

Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: BULBISSIME on August 11, 2010, 10:25:03 PM
Sad sad news
I only knew him throught JJA seeds and he will still live in my garden.
My condoleances to his family
Fred
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Hans A. on August 12, 2010, 06:49:42 AM
Very sad news.
As so many forumist a good number of plants came from Jim and Jenny, my garden would be much emptier without them.
Will always remember his very good and entertaining talk about Oncos in Wisley despite of a stubborn slide projector.
My condolences to his family.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Gerry Webster on August 12, 2010, 05:25:41 PM
Yesterday got very sads news about death of very famous gardener and my great friend Jim Archibald. To establish his memory I decided to name this crocus, collected during common trip as Crocus hittiticus 'Jim'.
Janis
That is very sad news indeed. Jim was a great plantsman & a wonderful person.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Mark Griffiths on August 13, 2010, 10:12:54 AM
I'm very sad to hear this news.

I think I met Jim and Jenny only a few times in the 70s at AGS shows where they would sometimes have plant stalls selling unusual fare. Both were friendly and helpful to a precocious teenager- I then re-aquainted myself with them in the 90s via their seed lists (which in typical fashion were a little different). I was talking to my fiance yesterday and realized how much of my present collection came from J&J,  the alstroemerias, sarcocapnos, some cyclamen, narcissus and frits all came from them.

We would also exchange letters from time to time and J&J were still helpful and entertaining, connecting me with other people etc and happy to hear that their collections were faring well.

It's a sad loss for his family and for the plant world.

Mark
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Gerry Webster on August 14, 2010, 09:51:43 PM
It is good to know that Jim will be remembered by means of a crocus. An even more appropriate memorial might be what is, perhaps, his most famous bulbous introduction, namely, Narcissus romieuxii  JCA 805.  In this light it would be good  if an effort could be made to ensure that  his selection from this collection, ‘Julia Jane', is widely distributed in its genuine clonal form to replace the innumerable seedlings which masquerade under the name. Since Bob & Rannveig Wallis were close to Jim, both personally & geographically, I presume that the plant which Rannveig offers now & again is the real thing.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Lesley Cox on August 15, 2010, 01:34:00 AM
I agree absolutely Gerry, so many seedlings now being around under what is not their own, genuine identity. I have a few hundred JJ seedlings beginning to flower this year and while they are very good, and some virtually the same as JJ, I shall eventually offer them locally as 'Gala Seedlings' (my nursery is Gala Plants) with the note that they are from JCA 805, and not mention 'Julia Jane' as such at all. There is one illustrated a few days ago in the "August in the Southern Hemisphere" thread.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Renate Brinkers on August 15, 2010, 10:01:11 AM
Very sad news.
I didn´t known him personally but, like lots of others, I also had and have plants from his seed.
My thoughts are with his family.

Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Jean-Patrick AGIER on August 15, 2010, 10:01:16 PM
So sad to hear of the death of Jim ARCHIBALD! I only knew him from JJA seedlists. A very generous man who personnally answered some of my queries . This I won't forget. All my sympathies to his wife Jenny and to his family.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: dominique on August 16, 2010, 11:22:53 AM
As all , I know Jim and Jenny by their seedlists and all seeds which grow at home now. He worked for the pleasure of so many gardeners who will remember Jim every time they look at his so numerous vegetal-childs all over the world. These seedlings have now a spiritual price for ever.
So sad to have lost so monumental personality.
My condoleances and best respect to Jenny and the childrens
Dom
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: J.B.Wyllie on August 16, 2010, 01:32:02 PM
Good news

Got a bulb list from Jenny this am

Seed list to follow when she has sent out the bulb orders



Jean
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Melvyn Jope on August 16, 2010, 02:03:49 PM
A poignant moment.
I have known Jim and Jenny for many years and have sometimes passed on plants/seeds found in my travels in Greece, usually Cyclamen, Crocus and other bulbous plants, Jim too would sometimes send me plants from his travels that he thought I would like.
At a recent Fritillaria meeting at Wisley Jim and Jenny and I were chatting about various plants and he told me the Chionodoxa cretica that I had found at the Omalos in Crete was a very fine clone. I had collected this and seed of Crocus sieberi ssp sieberi for them at the same location.
Today of all days, when his funeral is taking place, I too received the 2010 bulb list from Jenny and found that the Chionodoxa has been named Chionodoxa cretica 'Melvyn', how sad not to be able to ring him and thank him.
As others have said several plants in my collection have his reference number and will be a constant reminder of a good friend.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 16, 2010, 02:17:33 PM
Oh my goodness, Melvyn..... that is quite something, on this of all days.

 It is so sad not to be able to attend the funera lto pay our respects and support Jenny.... that is what messages from overseas have been saying that we've received here..... frustrating as it is, the distance involved and the complexities of the train system meant that it would take at least 16 hours to travel down to Jim's funeral and 12 plus to get back from Aberdeen.....so much for ease of movement around the UK!
 That just proved impossible to arrange so we are left here, as will others be around the world, thinking  our own thoughts and memories of that remarkable man.

It is good to know that Jenny is brave enough to be getting organised at this time to continue the business on her own. It must be very hard for her to comtemplate such things now  but  it is to be hoped that her work in carrying on will be a happy reminder of their days together.

 I suspect that Jenny and Jim will have discussed this and he will have given her the strength to carry on. I am full of admiration for her.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: mark smyth on August 16, 2010, 05:22:11 PM
It was Jim who got me hooked on Pelargoniums.

At one of his lectures for either SRGC at the discussion weekend or AGS Dublin Group discussion weekend he showed the two UK hardy P. endlicherianum and P. ?quercetorum. I asked him where I could get seed and he asked for my address. Within a few days a plant of each arrived in the post. Very kind of him. Sadly the plants died in the freeze this year
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 17, 2010, 10:51:50 AM
Dear Friends, with the gracious permission of Jenny Archibald we are pleased to be able to share with you the eulogy given by his old friend Robert Rolfe at Jim's funeral yesterday in Wales.  Would that more of us could have been there to hear this fitting tribute given by a friend....

JIM ARCHIBALD, 1941-2010

Jim Archibald was an exceptionally gifted man, and in particular one of the very finest horticulturists of his generation, or any other. His occasionally iconoclastic but always reasoned views have had a great influence on informed gardeners everywhere.  I’ll have inadvertently overlooked several important facets of his life, but whether you consider his achievements and international standing as a lecturer, as a plant-hunter, a photographer, a writer and a gardener, or simply cherish his memory as a shrewd arbiter and a steadfast friend, he was utterly remarkable.
 
I was barely a teenager when we first met, in the late 1960s. He had just lectured on his travels in southern Spain and the High Atlas to a gardening group I had newly joined. The previous month there had been a really wooden talk on conifers. When it finished … eventually … John Kelly, a nurseryman friend of the even-then august Mr Archibald, came up and said, ‘Forget that; just wait until you hear Jim’. And so from one of the worst lectures ever to one of the most compelling – I remember it well even now. He was erudite, fluent, funny, informative and had a very listenable voice, for he never lost his refined Edinburgh accent, though he didn’t pepper his vocabulary with Scotticisms, other than to use the adjective ‘wee’ when describing sundry small hummock-forming species. I assumed the surname Archibald was rather grand: Jim would have none of this, comparing its ubiquity north of the border with that of Smith (or given where this service is taking place, Jones) on birth certificates elsewhere in the kingdom.
 
At that time he was living in Dorset, at Buckshaw Gardens, running a nursery set up in 1966 with Eric Smith, who is nowadays best-remembered for his hellebore, bergenia and hosta raisings.  The noun ‘plantsman’ can be traced back to the late nineteenth century, but it came of age when the two of them set up their Sherborne enterprise, registering their business as The Plantsmen. Eric specialised in hardy herbaceous stock, while Jim concentrated on alpine plants, many of which he had introduced himself. They supplied a discriminating gaggle of gardeners, and had some impressive commissions – the grounds of Syon House among them. But while Jim grew herbaceous plants for the wholesale market for eight years after Eric left in 1975, alpines were always his main interest. Part Two of their catalogue – Jim’s preserve – was headed ‘a specialist list of alpine house and choice rock garden plants’. Not, then, for the sort of customers who, as he once sardonically observed, felt it appropriate to stake their pansies.
 
Although not trained as a taxonomist, he had all the attributes that go to make up the finest of this breed. His natural ‘eye’ for plant habitats led him to make discoveries that had eluded notable earlier explorers. As he unaffectedly wrote, ‘you can spot their ‘sort of places’ miles off’. Or rather, he could. Kit Grey-Wilson once went to tropical East Africa, despite advice that the area chosen had been ‘worked out’ botanically: he found a couple of Impatiens new to science on the first morning of the trip. Whereas Jim travelled in 1996 to the Drakensberg, and on extensively-studied Mont-aux-Sources encountered an undescribed Moraea. It was a similar story in Turkey, and again in Iran, his latter-day paeony finds there of especial note. And it was his earlier discovery, in 1966, of a remarkable Dionysia in the Zagros Mts, named after him the following year, that first made the botanical community sit up and take note. This he found in a remote spot: other discoveries often came from rather more accessible habitats. He maintained that it was merely necessary to walk a little further along any given road than previous plant-seekers. He was also involved in important re-discoveries, most notably that of Fritillaria poluninii nearly half a century after it was found in Iraq by Oleg of that ilk in 1958.
 
I’ve mentioned Iran, and although his early Moroccan journey constituted his first important expedition (‘for want of a better name’, as he put it), the Iranian trip was the real trigger for many, many more enterprising plant explorations over almost 45 years. Some of these went relatively unpublicised – his visit to Colombia, for example, South America having first caught his interest in the late 1960s when he was a very keen butterfly and moth collector. (A business contact there would send over stocks).

But those seed-collecting marathons dating from the first half of the 1980s onwards were in effect recorded via bi-annual, rarely tri-annual seed lists. These took the form of comprehensive field notes, rejigged into reams of beautifully-crafted, seductive plant portraits. The declared purpose was ‘to bring a degree of innovation, a sense of responsibility and professionalism to the long-established business of plant introduction’. Over the years, the lists have also acted as a determinedly esoteric clearing house for material sent by friends from the Falklands, Peru, Siberia, China, Japan, the Tien Shan and heaven knows where else. They eclipse any others in their scope and readability, and I’ve kept them all, though some are so well-thumbed that they are dropping to bits.  
 
This seed venture was first flagged up in June 1983: Jim tricked it out to look like a high-powered job advertisement, aimed at those ‘likely to be dissatisfied with their present situation, due to handling wrongly-named or lifeless seeds supplied in inadequate quantities at the incorrect time for satisfactory germination’. ‘If you feel that you have the right qualifications’, he added, half-seriously. One’s first thought was: ‘This man’s got a nerve!’ Well of course he had, and just as well that he kept it so steadfastly over the past couple of months, when he dealt systematically not only his own affairs, but also those pertaining to a sizeable chunk of British horticulture. You would arrive to find him with a list at the ready, full of prompts and agenda items that he ticked off one by one as they were discussed and dealt with. He had a knack for orderliness and precision, for all that he described his seed bank and his huge slide collection as chaotic.
 
He said that he was lazy. He was nothing of the sort, as those who have had the pleasure of visiting the inspirational garden he and Jenny developed near Llandysul will know. They have part-tamed and sympathetically re-ordered a wooded area over which red kites twist and turn, and within which a sometimes ferocious stream meanders, margined by the most deft and subtle plantings. Up the hillside, nearer the house, the polytunnels alone would keep most gardeners fully occupied. Here were meticulous blocks of Oncocyclus and Regelia irises, almost every Fritillaria in existence, Chilean alstroemerias in exuberant masses, a simply fantastic collection of paeony species, and much more besides.

Having introduced so many plants, others would have been tempted to make free with cultivar names. Not Jim. Some of the more outlandish that they coined provoked snorts of derision. Offhand, for him I can only summon up Linaria tristis ‘Toubkal’ from his first Moroccan trip (made with Barrie Gilliatt and Janette Stephen, who later became his first wife), along with Narcissus ‘Julia Jane’, Primula allionii ‘Stephen’ (after their children), and a paeony named for Jenny.
    
He considered himself a hopeless correspondent. An intermittent one, certainly, but how could it be otherwise, given the masses of contacts and friends worldwide? And what pleasure his letters brought; often on creamy parchment-coloured notepaper, with a line drawing of an Atlas Moth top right, written in black ink, in his distinctive, slightly arty, well-formed hand. Amusing postcards would sometimes arrive too, and gifts other than plants – I own a tie (a little too lively to wear today) that he bought in the States in 1991, the year he and Jenny married, almost on a whim, in Carson City, Nevada, fitting in their seed-collecting activities around the service, or rather, given the dedication they are famed for in the field, vice versa.  
 
He reckoned he wasn’t a natural writer, by which he meant that it was often a slog, but of course it is for everyone, from time to time. When he knuckled down to it, he wrote like a dream. It is a great loss that the brace of books he had hoped to write is not to be – he was always too busy, whether he was at home or abroad (where he was emphatically not on holiday). Writing recently to another inveterate plant-hunter, John Watson, he mischievously employed CITES-speak to observe: ‘There aren’t many of us left; almost extinct. Definitely rare and critically endangered.’
 
Regarding himself as something of a horticultural renegade, he precisely tossed the written equivalent of grenades in order to explode the unfacts and uninitiatives that threatened to hamper the ‘enthusiastic and adventurous gardeners’ who formed his loyal constituents. This went down very well indeed in many quarters, badly in others. Which is what he intended. Even so, in reality he was at the very heart of the  horticultural community, and his friends were largely drawn from what he christened ‘the hypersensitive horto-botanical establishment’ – just look around you today. No committees for him; no working parties or discussion groups, but he liked to judge at shows, where he inevitably, effortlessly upped the ante, and always amused.
 
He had the most infectious laugh, somewhere between a throaty chuckle and a husky wheeze, which was deployed liberally. Conversation never flagged, for he was endlessly curious (‘Now, tell me’, he would often preface his sentences), extremely bright and very widely-informed. He was in particular a gifted anecdotalist, mimicking with gleeful mirth the appalled reaction of a conservative American audience when a lecturer included a slide of a woman, stark naked and full-frontal, rising from a mountain lake. On another occasion, he related a High Noon type encounter between a serially wronged wife and a horticulturist whose enthusiasm for experimental propagation techniques was not confined to plants. Who now can begin to match his pleasurable, honed indiscretions?
 
In closing, I have been particularly asked to state what many of you will know: in life Jim was inseparable from his briar pipe. Because he found it diverting, I include the following aside. After the death of another celebrated smoker, Princess Margaret, ‘Private Eye’ published a cartoon. In the background Slough Crematorium, with a plume of smoke coming from the chimney. In the foreground two men, and the speech bubble: ‘One last puff: it’s what she would have wanted’. Well, what Jim would undoubtedly have wanted was his pipe. It is with him now. I just wish so very much that he was still here with us.
                                                                                                                               ROBERT ROLFE

Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: ranunculus on August 17, 2010, 11:23:25 AM
Oh, when the time comes, to be permitted a eulogy one thousandth as fitting as that! 

Thank you Robert!  Thank you Jim!  Thank you Jenny!
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 17, 2010, 02:29:04 PM
Bobby Ward has written an appreciation of Jim for the North American Rock Garden Society... it will be published in their next bulletin and is on the  the NARGS website here: http://www.nargs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=211:in-memoriam-jim-archibald&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=136
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Lesley Cox on August 17, 2010, 09:45:09 PM
What a wonderful privilege to be able to read RR's fantastic eulogy. It said so succinctly the little I knew of Jim and so much more besides that I almost feel I knew him well.

So many thanks to Jenny for this opportunity to share in Jim's last time before passing from the sight of men.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 17, 2010, 10:03:50 PM
Yes, it was very good of Jenny to allow Robert to share his words with us.
Jim  had arranged the order of the service to include readings and some great music.... as might be expected it was not quite what is usual at such occasions ...not too many such services are accompanied by the music of Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke : I do hope that   "Royal Garden Blues"  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyvH6wf4ghw&feature=related) was included!


 King Oliver's Dixie Syncopators "Wa Wa Wa"  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8kLNeb21z0&feature=related) from the Roaring 20's was heard..  I can well imagine Jim's impish pleasure at such a plan.

Also included was the "funeral march" by W C Handy, ,"Oh, Didn't He Ramble" played by Jelly Roll Morton  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEX2z-ZGMUw) which does have a more sombre touch in places!


I hope you follow the embedded links to listen to these pieces of music and enjoy them, as you raise a glass to Jim....

Cheers, Jim, and Jenny!

Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Diane Clement on August 17, 2010, 10:58:22 PM
And a big thanks to Maggi for putting all this together as a tribute to Jim.  And thanks to Robert for his thoughts and memories, no one could have said it better.

There's memories from Val Lee and more detail of the service here:

http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/discussion/miscellaneous/Jim+Archibald+Plantsman+and+personal+friend/429/ (http://www.alpinegardensociety.net/discussion/miscellaneous/Jim+Archibald+Plantsman+and+personal+friend/429/)
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Oron Peri on August 18, 2010, 08:33:00 PM
It is not surprising to see so many people from every part of the world feeling the same way about this extraordinary man.
Jim's knowledge, enthusiasm and love for bulbs were and will always be a strong and important inspiration to me.

 His spirit will appear here every Autumn and Spring in form of beautiful colors and scents.

THANK YOU
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Gerry Webster on August 23, 2010, 11:20:34 PM
An obituary has appeared in 'The Daily Telegraph':

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/7960472/Jim-Archibald.html
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 23, 2010, 11:29:24 PM
Gerry, thank you for this link.
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Ragged Robin on August 24, 2010, 09:32:55 AM
Thanks for the link Gerry.

Jim's obituary is a wonderful story of a young boy inspired by his Father to experience the joy of growing plants and to his success with his alpine plant which won him a prize, aged just 12, from The Scottish Rock Garden Club.

It is fitting that so many SRGC Members have expressed their joy of growing seeds collected by Jim on his expeditions..... and so his inspiration goes on in gardens all over the world that make his vision a dream come true.

A truly magnificent life story.



 
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 25, 2010, 12:46:04 PM
This obituary for Jim has appeared  in the Scotsman newspaper- my thanks to Glassford Sprunt for  sending this to me -
 [attach=1]
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 30, 2010, 06:47:45 PM
We have received a lovely letter from Phyllis Gustafson in Oregon about Jim.
Phyllis is the co-auther of 'Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest' and  ran a small seed collection business.

Here is Phyllis' message:


Dear Margaret and Ian,
It was with great sorrow that we read your announcement of the death of Jim. He was a great friend and both Richard and I loved having Jim and Jenny here.
Jim knew the Siskiyous like the back of his hand. We would go to some of his favorite places and he showed me where some of our special native plants grow.  He kept meticulous notes and re-read when needed. When arriving at the site of some rare plant he and Jenny would walk up a slope or down a canyon and there the plant would be, behind a rock or tree or under a bush. We will miss their happy voices on the phone and their visits. We have never met more cheerful and thoughtful people.
 I will never forget a trip with Jim, Jenny and Boyd Kline through some of the wildest parts of the Klamath Range.


May the members of the wide alpine world grow as many as possible of the Archibald introductions to honor this marvellous man.

Phyllis
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on September 20, 2010, 08:12:20 PM
Three sales are planned of plants from Jim and Jenny Archibald's stock collection: see this page for  details:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6046.new#new
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on September 23, 2010, 10:48:19 PM
The new IRG with further pieces about Jim is now online:
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2010Sep231285274083IRG9September2010.pdf
Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: Maggi Young on August 09, 2018, 11:23:07 AM
Remembering  Jim on the anniversary of his death.
These flowers were  grown from JJA seed  by Rogan Roth in South Africa ..
 
Narcissus obesus
 [attachimg=1]

Title: Re: Sad news: A plantsman lost to us - Jim Archibald has died
Post by: nonio10 on May 24, 2021, 02:02:49 PM
Ohh  so sad to heard that you lost your well-wisher
SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal