Farr Nursery Papers

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Biographical Note

Bertrand Farr was born on October 14, 1863 in Windham Vermont. When he was five years old, his family moved to Wisconsin and later to Iowa where his father established a cattle farm near Webster City. It was here that Bertrand developed an affinity for nature, enjoying the prairie terrain, vegetation, birds and flowers. As a young boy, his aunt gave him a peony for doing a small errand, He later referred to it as his "first peony", the precursor of many that he would later collect.

Educated in Webster City and at a Seminary in Rochester near Milwaukee, Bertrand graduated at 17. After obtaining a teacher's certificate, he taught at an Iowa country school. During this period his mother bought a piano and he took lessons. His aptitude for music led him to pursue a musical career and in 1883 he went to the New England Conservatory in Boston. For almost twenty years, he was chiefly involved in selling musical instruments. This work brought him to Reading Pennsylvania where he bought property in Wyomissing, a nearby suburb.

In 1906, he married Anna Willis who coincidently studied at the New England Conservatory during the same time period as Bertrand; however, they did not meet there, but later when they had both returned to Iowa.

Throughout his long career in the music business, his interest in flowers was a constant. As a hobby in Wyomissing, he collected peonies and irises which captured the attention of his friends, neighbors and visitors. His hobby transformed into a business and the Farr Nursery and Landscape Company was founded in 1908 in Wyomissing as a mail order nursery specializing in irises, peonies and lilacs. Landscaping and local service began in 1916.

In 1915, Farr gained international attention by winning a Gold Medal and a Certificate of Merit for his display of irises at the Panama Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) in San Francisco. Displaying his winning award and certificate in his 1917 Hardy Plants catalog, Farr featured his award winning PPIE iris hybrids for purchase, including, among others, Juniata, Red Cloud and Quaker Lady. During the first half of the 20th century, Juniata was one of the earliest American varieties to be used as a parent plant in iris hybridization.

By 1920, his advertising slogan was "Better Plants by Farr." Up to this point, his nursery was financed presumably by a family inheritance. Perhaps to further expand his enterprise, in the early 1920's Farr sold 700 shares of stock in his nursery to the "Wyomissing Group" of local businessmen who he considered his friends. Their intention was to gain control and develop the land. The "Group" called in their loan which Farr could not repay and thus lost most of his property. In an effort to rebuild his life, he purchased the nursery at Weiser Park in Womelsdorf in 1923. He died October 11, 1924 from a cerebral hemorrhage.

After Farr's death, his wife was elected President of the Farr Nursery and the business of irises and peonies diminished as evergreens, ornamental trees and woody plants expanded. In 1925 the nursery was purchased by Farr employees: Charles Boardman (1897-1961) Lester Needham, until 1927, and Harold G. Seyler (1895-1962). Six months after Boardman's death, Seyler's sons (John and David) bought Boardman's interest. John Seyler controlled the nursery until 1987 when he sold the business to five key employees who had been running the operation. In 2008 the Farr Nursery closed and the property was sold in 2011.

Although not an academic botanist, Bertrand Farr was an internationally renown plant breeder who personally hybridized and named 50 irises. He is considered the first important iris hybridizer in the United States. Farr also hybridized lilacs, peonies, poppies and other perennials.

Farr lectured, wrote articles for garden magazines and textbooks. He was a founder and later Director of the American Iris Society as well as President of the American Peony Society from 1909-1917. He spent much time helping to systematize the names of nearly 3,000 varieties of peonies. For his accomplishments, the American Peony Society presents an award given in his name, The Bertrand Farr Lifetime Achievement Award.

A frequent visitor to the New York Botanical Garden, Farr gave bearded and Japanese irises to the collections. His association with the Garden's Director of Laboratories, Dr. Arlow B. Stout (1876-1957) was his most important connection. In the 1920's, the Garden did not permit the sale or general distribution of hybrid daylilies (Hemerocallis) and Stout was advised to approach local nurserymen for assistance in the propagation of his hybrids. Farr was the only nurseryman who was willing to cooperate with the Garden. With a handshake, Farr provided nursery plots for the care and propagation of Dr. Stout's most promising daylily seedlings. Even after Farr's death, the nursery honored the agreement and the evaluation and distribution of Dr. Stout's hybrid daylilies continued.

By the time of Stout's death in 1957, eighty-three of his cultivars had been introduced at the Farr Nursery. The American Daylily Society awarded both men with a silver medal. The Stout medal is the highest honor a daylily cultivar can receive. The medal that honors Bertrand Farr is awarded for distinguished results in daylily hybridization. It was first awarded to Dr. Arlow B. Stout.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of materials found by Lori Galletti abandoned in a home which was once part of the Farr Nursery campus in Wyomissing, PA. Lori researched the history of Farr and added materials to those found to create this collection which was donated to the Garden in 2014 and supplemented with further material in 2018.

Restrictions

Access restrictions

Unrestricted.

Copyright

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be submitted in writing to the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden.

Related Material

New York Botanical Garden

Nursery and Seed Catalog Collection

RG5--Arlow Burdette Stout records

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Farr (PP), Archives, The New York Botanical Garden.

Acquisition Information

Donated.

Processing Information

Jane Dorfman, Archives Volunteer, 2019. Converted to EAD in February 2020 by Lisa Studier.

Container List