Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: Maggi Young on April 09, 2020, 08:56:18 PM
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Sad news of the death of Fred Forrest Hunt. April 2020
Fred Hunt from Invergowrie, near Dundee, began his garden career as a grower and exhibitor of chrysanthemums but switched to alpines under the tutelage of his next door neighbours, Henry and Margaret Taylor. His name regularly appeared in the list of prize winners in the early 1980s and it was not long before he was sweeping the boards with his immaculate plants. His trademark was magnificent presentation with not a blemish on a single flower or leaf and attention to detail. In this he was aided both by his use of such attention in his employment as a proof-reader and by his wife Alice. Fred was colour-blind and Alice's trained eagle eye was invaluable in helping Fred choose colour combinations and spot tiny blemishes.
He was one of the first of the modern exhibitors to feed their plants regularly so they appeared in superb condition and larger than ever before. Medals, certificates and trophies abounded as Fred continued his amazing career up to and beyond the end of the 20th century. He was also a Show Judge and a member of the RHS Joint Rock Garden Plant Committee. He was an active member, and sometime Treasurer of the Angus Group and was made and Honorary Vice President of SRGC.
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Alf Evans with Alice and Fred Hunt in their Invergowrie house ( note the Lawrence Greenwood paintings on the wall)
He exhibited a remarkably wide range of plants, many obtaining RHS awards, including FCCs for Calluna vulgaris 'Kinlochruel', Clematis marmoraria, Edraianthus serpyllifolius 'Major' and Pleione 'Shantung Ducat'. It is hardly possible to identify which he grew best but he is renowned for his European primulas, cypripediums and an imposing range of fritillaries like conica, crassifolia and tubiformis. Perhaps his trademark plant was the Chilean bulb, Tecophilaea cycanocrocus shown to perfection, while his six- and three-pan entries were works of art, all produced in his small village garden and alpine house. In the 1990s he travelled widely in China and Tibet in search of primulas and rhododendrons.
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Fred with a Forrest Medal plant of Tecophilaea cyanocrocus in 2002
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Fred staging plants at Perth - and with at least one trophy to return, it seems! Helpmeet Alice has her back to the camera.
Fred and Alice were also fond of their "getaway" holidays, to all sorts of lovely alpine places in Europe, and even to the likes of Las Vegas - a somewhat unexpected destination for the two of them - but they loved the glitz of the shows there - so very different from the ones we have in the SRGC - but I bet the home baking wasn't as good! Fred and Alice welcomed many Club members to their home where the excellent company was enjoyed with good food and the chance to marvel at the number and quality of plants in the garden, frames and alpine house.
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Alice and Fred in Northern Cyprus in 1990
As time went on, the two of them were seen less often at the shows and all the other Club events they had supported so well. A few years ago Alice died and Fred, becoming increasing frail, was admitted to a Care Home. It was there he died peacefully, in his sleep, early this month.
After Alice died Fred and Alice's relatives carried through a wish of the pair to donate their collection of flower paintings - many by the late Lawrence Greenwood - to be auctioned by the SRGC in aid of Club funds. Another way to remind us of the kindness of one of our greatest ever exhibitors. When Sandy Leven wrote about Fred's Forrest Medal winning plant of Fritillaria liliacea at the Perth Show in 2005 - see next post - Fred was the Club's most successful ever winner of Forrest Medals. His record has since been overtaken by Cyril Lafong, for whom Fred had great affection and admiration, but Fred's record is still magnificent.
Fred was so encouraging to Ian and I when we began showing - Harold Esslement prodded us into it and Fred and Alice gave endless encouragement when we did. He was never aloof or condescending to us as newcomers and this was a real boost to us. I remember too, the feeling of real achievement we felt the first time we managed to beat Fred's entry in a six-pan class - that was real success! He was the first to congratulate us, of course.
Another aspect of Fred's character was that he was always so neatly dressed. Not always most formally, sometimes at shows he wore an open shirt and cashmere sweater, but he always looked immaculate- it was a matter of great amusement to us when we were shown photos of Fred emerging from a soggy tent in the Himalayas, on a trek, looking "band-box smart" ! I regret that I do not have a copy to share with you now. I must make do with a photo shared by Sandy Leven of a young Fred on his motor bike - as neat a biker boy as one has ever seen.
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Young Fred on the motor bike
We were unable to attend Alice's funeral and now in these times of covid-19, we are in lockdown, so we cannot attend any service for Fred either, however, the affection and admiration for friends can never be lost, and we mourn the loss of a good and generous friend.
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Michael Almond was able to share the photos of Fred and Alice on holidays, the Forrest medal photos are taken from Sandy Leven's show reports and some are by Ian and I and were shown on the Forum.
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Fred, Fritillaria lilicaea 2005
Sandy Leven wrote in 2005:
Appropriately Fred Hunt's middle name, Forrest, prepared him for Stardom in the world of Rock Garden plants. Fred has won more Forrest medals than anyone. (..and a Farrer Medal, too). He is THE MAN. His plants are THE PLANTS. Fritillarias are one of his passions and he has skill and patience to increase one or two bulbs up into a world class panful. which will hold its own in any company. At Perth it was the delightful Californian Fritillaria liliaceae, which brought Fred his most recent Forrest Medal. Now very scarce, even rare, in its native territory, the coastal hills, from San Francisco Bay down to Monterey, it is just as well that it is amenable to cultivation and that our top growers cherish it. It is difficult in this picture to appreciate the blends of cream, pale green and yellow in the open bell shaped flowers. What a pity Reginald Farrer lived too soon to see Fred Hunt's plants, otherwise he would never have written of Fritillarias, 'the family all round has a bad character'. Farrer however lived before Fred and before Wayne Roderick who brought many delightful Californians into cultivation. Had Wayne seen how well Fritillaria liliaceae grows for Fred he would have been delighted. Well done Mr Hunt for showing us how a pan of bulbs should look.
N. B. Fred won another Forrest at Perth two years later, again with this lovely fritillary!
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Fred, Fritillaria lilicaea 2007
Other photos of Fred’s Forrest Medal winning plants ….
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Fred with Trillium decumbens Perth 2002
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Hexham 2002 Fritillaria tubiformis
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Stirling 2001 Fritillaria davisii
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Fred with Lewisia 'George Henley' in Aberdeen 2010
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A cheery post show supper in Aberdeen - with Fred and Alice, third and fourth left.
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On holiday at Murren 1988
So nice to remember these dear friends!
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Very sad news indeed. One of the greats in our Club! Always with words of friendly encouragement. When I started showing I rapidly learnt that it would be difficult to beat Fred if he entered a plant in a class.
Here is a full list of Fred's 26 Forrest medal plants - only two have won more, Harold Esslemont with 43 and Cyril Lafong with 59. A truly magnificent achievement from a great plantsman.
1982 08/05/1982 Glasgow Edraianthus serpyllifolium "Major"
1985 11/05/1985 Glasgow Clematis marmoraria
1986 24/05/1986 Aberdeen Clematis marmoraria
1987 09/05/1987 Glasgow Orchis morio
1987 23/05/1987 Aberdeen Edraianthus serpyllifolium
1988 23/04/1988 Perth Clematis marmoraria
1988 21/05/1988 Aberdeen Phlox mesaleuca
1992 16/05/1992 Aberdeen Edraianthus serpyllifolium "Major"
1993 17/04/1993 Perth Primula x "White Linda Pope"
1994 26/03/1994 Stirling Pulsatilla "Budapest"
1994 07/05/1994 Glasgow Fritillaria glauca
1994 21/05/1994 Aberdeen Cypripedium calceolus
1996 13/04/1996 Edinburgh Fritillaria conica
1996 20/04/1996 Perth Primula "White Linda Pope"
1996 18/05/1996 Aberdeen Fritillaria purdyi
1997 17/05/1997 Aberdeen Edraianthus serpyllifolium "Major"
1998 18/04/1998 Perth Fritillaria pallidiflora
1999 20/03/1999 Morecambe Fritillaria aurea
1999 27/03/1999 Edinburgh Tecophilaea cyanocrocus
2001 07/04/2001 Stirling Fritillaria davisii
2002 23/03/2002 Edinburgh & the Lothians Tecophilaea cyanocrocus
2002 13/04/2002 Northumberland Fritillaria tubiformis
2002 20/04/2002 Perth Trillium decumbens
2005 23/04/2005 Perth Fritillaria lilacea
2007 21/04/2007 Perth Fritillaria lilacea
2010 15/05/2010 Aberdeen Lewisia columbiana 'George Henley'