Begonia society has a colorful history of legends

National convention will honor eight from area

By Candice Norwood Union-Tribune

Aug. 3, 2012 3:29 PM PT

The ABS Convention Honorees

Thelma O’Reilly: The La Mesa resident cultivated and cross pollinated hundreds of rare begonia plants. She regularly contributes articles to the bimonthly journal, The Begonia, and has given speaking tours in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. Her breakthrough 1981 research on a rare begonia species prompted Dr. Lyman B. Smith of the Smithsonian to name it after her.

Eleanor Calkins: She served for 11 years as a treasurer for the ABS and was a national representative for the two local branches for several years. When the Margaret Lee Branch took over the operation of the Clayton M. Kelly Seed Fund as a branch project, Eleanor was the first project administrator. She lives in Escondido.

Ingeborg Foo: Served as secretary, national representative, and ballot counter for the ABS. She is currently the secretary for the local Mabel Corwin Branch as well as the 2012 National Convention. Foo resides in Vista.

Michael Kartuz: He is owner of Kartuz Greenhouses in Vista, which specializes in begonias and other shade-loving plants. Michael Kartuz helps ABS obtain begonias for fundraising plant sales at the national conventions and local branches of the ABS.

Ed and Phyllis Bates: The couple served as editors of the “The Begonian” as well as the Los Angeles International Fern Society. Both are residents of Del Mar and are currently active in two of the three local ABS branches.

Charles Ades: He studied horticulture at Oregon State University and worked at several landscaping and nursery companies before forming San Marcos-based Ades & Gish (now A&G) Nursery in 1974. He lives in Encinitas.

Evelyn Weidner: Over the years, she has cultivated and cross pollinated many begonia plants. In 1973 she and her late husband opened Weidner’s Gardens. She lives in Encinitas.

Over the 50 years that Thelma O’Reilly has cultivated and bred begonia plants, she acquired a prestigious nickname among many California plant enthusiasts: the Begonia Queen. Any visitor to her garden “palace” in La Mesa would quickly be able to see why.

With pebble walkways surrounded by begonias and bromeliads in vibrant colors and shapes, her backyard is nothing short of a natural wonderland.

Ethereal statues rise from the ivy-covered ground. A separate area contains a greenhouse and wooden pavilions that house more that 400 begonia plants, including some collected during O’Reilly’s excursions to Mexico and Costa Rica.

Because of her influence and success in begonia cross pollination, the American Begonia Society (ABS) has chosen to honor her at the organization’s annual convention next week.

O’Reilly, 94, will be one of eight local “begonia legends” between the ages of 75 and 95 celebrated during the event Aug. 8 through 12 at the Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley.

The organization got its start in Long Beach in 1932, intending “to preserve and promote interest in begonias,” said Dean Turney, convention chair.

The ABS is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year at the San Diego convention. The organization has a particularly large group of members in the Southern California region; the area’s consistent temperatures in the 70s and relatively dry climate make for ideal growing conditions, according to Turney.

To highlight that membership base, the group chose to honor eight local members who have served the society for decades and continue to promote research and development of new types of begonia plants.

Honorees include: Michael Kartuz, owner of the Kartuz Greenhouses in Vista; Ingeborg Foo of Vista; and Eleanor Calkins of Escondido. All three have served ABS at both a national and local level for more that 30 years.

Ed and Phyllis Bates of Del Mar are also among the honorees. They have held various offices within the society and served as editors for the bimonthly national journal “The Begonian” for 10 years.

Fellow honoree Charles Ades of Encinitas said his love for begonias grew from a desire to “do things that haven’t really been done before,” such as finding rarely researched plants and creating hybrids. “You never really look to be recognized for these types of things; you do it because you love it,” Ades said.

Over the five days at the convention, attendees will have the opportunity to meet and network with the legends during tours of various begonia gardens and nurseries throughout San Diego. There also will be a number of guest speakers from around the world, including China and Taiwan; the event will end with a begonia show and sale that is open to the public.

Among the seminar speakers is Evelyn Weidner, owner of the Encinitas-based plant nursery Weidner’s Gardens. She is also in the group of honorees.

Weidner said her “lifetime love affair” can be attributed to the beauty and uniqueness of begonia plants. With more than 1,500 species of the plant that vary in colors and sizes, begonias are a versatile and diverse plant, she said.

“There are begonias that can grow in cool, desert and tropical climates,” Weidner said. “You can find some that are only a few feet tall and others that can reach about 12 feet.”

O’Reilly said it was also that diversity that won over her heart. Her work gave her the opportunity to meet renowned plant researchers, including Dr. Lyman B. Smith of the Smithsonian Institution, who named a begonia species after her in 1981.

With a 95th birthday in November, O’Reilly said that she finds herself looking back on happy moments over the years.

She is “thrilled to pieces” for the honor and inspired by the work of fellow honorees and late ABS members.

candice.norwood@utsandiego.com • (619) 293-1882