Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => Alpines => Topic started by: Maggi Young on May 18, 2009, 09:18:48 AM
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I have had the very sad news that Kath Dryden VMH, an Honorary Vice President of the SRGC, died early this morning after a brave fight against illness.
It is ironic indeed that Kath should pass away on the morning of the Judging Day at the Chelsea Flower Show, where she was involved in the successes of so many AGS displays and where many of her friends are travelling to today for the Joint Rock Committee meetings etc.
She was a wonderful woman, full of knowledge and feisty of spirit. A plantswoman par excellence and a passionate grower who never tired of talking plants.
Kath was an AGS Vice President and had served in many capacities for the society, including as President and Director of Shows. She had been awarded the SRGC Golden Jubilee Salver and the AGS Lyttle Trophy.
She was no mean exhibitor herself, winning premier awards for all sorts of plants, from ericaceous gems to the pearls of the bulb world that so absorbed her time and attention.
My fondest memory of her show plants is of a truly enchanting planting of the diminutive orchid, Calypso bulbosa on a mossy piece of wood, looking for all the world as though it were a tiny landscape, at the Alpines 1991 conference show. Kath had an eye for the artistic as well as the botanical niceties.
A forthright person who "did not suffer fools gladly"; no, to say that is to deny her strength of feeling; she did not suffer fools at all; Kath could appear a very prickly person.
This did not prevent her from being a very kind giver of advice to any keen novice who sought her help and soon her kind and generous nature was clear to see.
Kath was devastated a few years ago to lose her beloved husband, Maurice. What a team they were! Kath was never quite the same after his death, the two of them truly made up the other's "half".
No doubt full accounts of Kath's long and eventful life and her talents as a plantswoman will be made in the coming days.
For Ian and I , Kath was a dear, dear friend who we will miss very deeply. The Alpine world will be a very different place now but Kath's recent suffering is over and we will remember her with joy and humour.
Our fondest thoughts are with her dear son, John, her daughter in law Sue, and their Family, who meant so very much to Kath.
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Very sad news. I cannot claim to have known Kath well, but I had a certain amount of contact with her when I was active in the Frit Group. On the basis of this limited acquaintance, Maggi's summary of her character seems spot on. When I first met her I found her quite intimidating but eventually recognised the warm & generous person behind the prickly exterior. I experienced her generosity personally. At one of the shows I admired a couple of her frits - rare Chinese species - & she responded to my compliments in her usual somewhat brusque manner. A few months later I received a small packet through the post containing bulbs of the two frits I had seen. I believe this was quite typical.
She will be much missed.
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A great Lady and a great grower, sadly missed.
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What sad news... :'(
My sincere condolences to those she leaves behind !
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Maggi said it all for all of us who knew her -she will be sorely missed. I found her a warm and loving person -never intimidating or prickly . But that was at 10 years intervals ,attending the International Rockgarden Conferences .There are a number of plants in my garden , from her garden , that will always refer to that great Plantswoman ,and I shall treasure our correspondence .
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My wife and I met Kath over thirty years ago when we lived in Sawbridgworth and helped out with the catering and policing of her garden on her Garden Open days.
Her reputation amongst growers of alpines and bulbs is hard to overestimate because she helped so many people to expand their knowledge of growing and showing them.
Although her passing was not totally unexpected when it finally happens it is a great shock and as Maggi said it was ironic that today, on the first day of Chelsea, we should learn of it.
I hope that her legacy in the form of her plants, books and notebooks will be a resource for future generations of alpine growers.
We, too, would like to extend our deepest sympathies to John and his family.
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It's only over the last few years that Kath and I have been corresponding about our shared love of daffodils. I will treasure her long letters, and the daffodils she very generously gave me. She was a lovely lady, although we never actually met, and always willing to share her wealth of knowledge with others. I will miss her.
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I met her only briefly in 1981 but found her to be a warm and kindly person, friendly to an obscure person from the other side of the world. A great loss to all who love alpine plants.
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David & I only met Kath once she was sitting beside the pool at John Amand's house holding court. Her knowledge was all encompassing and she will be sadly missed by many.
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Here are details for Kath Dryden's funeral service:
The Service will be held at St Mary the Virgin : Church Lane , Sheering , Essex , CM22 7NR
at 11.30 on Monday June 1st, 2009
Flowers or Donations to St Clare Hospice C/O Daniel Robinson & Sons, 3, Bullfields, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, CM21 9DB - to arrive by 10am on the day.
All friends are respectfully invited.
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Kath was affectionately known in our househould for many year as "that bloody cockney". She quite liked that nickname. RIP
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The countless great plants that originated with or were introduced by Kath Dryden is staggering. She singlehandedly raised the standards to lofty heights. What an eye for perfection. Quite an amazing woman to whom we all owe so much whether we realize it or not.
johnw
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Having known Kath for many years ,I will certainly miss tapping in to her endless knowledge which she passed on with such enthusiasm whenever we met.
A wonderfull lady ,who will be so sadly missed by us all.
Eric
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I have had so many thoughts about Kath as we kept in touch every week sometimes every day and I usually got a telling of about something but she was so incredibly helpfull and I made her laugh when I said that when I asked her about a plant or a bulb the information given was so detailed right down to the colour of underwear that the person was wearing when they collected the plant. I was preseted with the Kath Dryden award in 2006 by the AGS and one customer wrote to congratulate me and I use his words, 'I met Kath Dryden once at a Harrogate show a tall elegant lady who marched round the exhibits followed by a string of trembling officials'. That to me was Kath who was one of our greatest plantpersons ever, cheers Ian the Christie kind.
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I would just like to say, thank you so much to all of you for your wonderful tributes to my beloved grand-mother. Although expected, her passing has left a void in our lives which will take sometime to adjust to.
On behalf of the whole family, I would like to say how much your comments have helped us. It is so wonderful to know how much impact she had on everyone's lives and not just our own.
With love, Sarah Dryden x
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Dear Sarah,
The messages left here are but a small number of those we have heard from Members all over the world who held your Grandmother in the highest esteem, both as a Friend and a Plantswoman.
It is a matter of great regret to many of us that we will not be able to attend Kath's funeral service to pay our last respects to her and to pass on to you and your brother Andrew, and your Father and Sue, our sincere condolences on your loss.
Please know that you will be fondly in our thoughts on that day.
Maggi and Ian
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Kath was genuinely one of those "one of a kind" people who once met would never be forgotten. She was particularly kind and helpful to me at many points in my life. In particular I owe it to her for being directly responsible for my gaining the post I am so fortunate to have, looking after the alpines at Wisley Garden. She was also extremely supportive to me and my civil partner, Colin, who together she affectionately reffered to simply as "The Boys", a title that has stuck with us everywhere we go. We will both miss her greatly.
Paul Cumbleton
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I really enjoyed talking with her at the annual bulb sales in East Anglia and on the phone at other times of the year.
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One memory that returns is the comments Kath made on seeing Jacinta and the children at Wymondham AGS show a couple of years ago. Although she hardly knew us she came up with: "Another couple of years and you'll be able to take over as Show Secretary with them to help you" Never afraid to voice an opinion but with a very warm heart, as has been said already, she was one of a kind. RIP
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After the rather unseemly comments from the presenters about the Victoria Medal of Honour on Monday evenings' Chelsea coverage, it was good to hear Alan Titchmarsh, himself the holder of the VHM, make kind mention of Kath last night.
After a discussion about Anne Scott James, which also mentioned Elizabeth David, speaking of those ladies as " two legends", Alan Titchmarsh said ( and I have re-listened to the piece so I hope I have the words nearly verbatim) :
"We have lost a third legend sadly this week; a lady called Kathleen Dryden, who I knew well, a great great alpine grower with an outrageous sense of humour and a wonderful laugh. You know she used to call me :"Titchy, what are you doing?". She was lovely, she would have been 84 this coming Saturday. We will miss her, miss her terribly, and her laugh; and she taught us that you need more than one lifetime to learn about gardening. Two lovely women" ((meaning Kath and Anne Scott James)
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Dear All, I manged to get to Kath Drydens funeral today and thanks to Lynne and Doug Joyce who made a super effort to drive me. John Kaths son took me to Kaths garden for one last look this really knocked me out as i just imagined her being round the next corner. John was so thankful to evryone for all the support given here on the forum and all the family spoke highly of the SRGC. I met the great and the good of horticulture such was the respect held by our friend Kath. The minister said at the end 'I never realised that a flower could mean so much to someone and that someone could mean so much to a flower. Kath Dryden. VMH.
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So many of us who would dearly have loved to be able to pay our last respects to dear Kath are heartened to hear that her funeral was so well attended by so many friends from the plant world - I hope it would have pleased Kath and that it has given comfort to her family.
A bunch of Scottish Rock folks are off to Gothenburg on Thursday.... what's the betting that a toast to Kath will be the first made in the potting shed ? :)
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There will be toasts to lots of folks at the Potting Shed. All absent friends your ears will be bussing.
Cheers Jean and the gang.
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Hi all as Kath would have said 'fancy a back stiffener?' any time i visited at 5pm she would appear with a huge glass of whisky for me I always slept well at The Berries, cheers Ian the Christie kind.