Pelargoniums: An Herb Society of America Guide
Contributors & Acknowledgements
Text by Michele Meyers, HSA Director of Education, except where otherwise noted
© 2006 The Herb Society of America
Horticultural advisor: Robin Siktberg, HSA Editor/Horticulturist
Contributors
The Herb Society of America would like to thank the following contributors, without whose expertise and input this guide would
not have been possible:
James Adams
Jim Adams has been gardening and growing herbs since childhood. He earned his horticulture
degree from Michigan State University. He completed numerous internships at some of the
country's premier horticultural institutions before becoming the Assistant Curator of the Fern
Valley Native Plant Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum. In 1997, he changed posts and
became Curator of the National Herb Garden, also at the arboretum. Jim is a member of the
Potomac Unit of The Herb Society of America, as well as various other horticulture-related
organizations and was awarded HSA's Nancy Putnam Howard Award for Excellence in
Horticulture in 2004. He is currently Horticulturist at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Caroline Amidon
Caroline Amidon has been studying and growing pelargoniums for years, and she and Joyce Brobst
maintain an HSA-registered Pelargonium collection in Pennsylvania. Caroline served as
president of HSA from 1996-1998 and is a member of the Philadelphia Unit and Rosemary Circle.
She received HSA's Helen de Conway Little Medal of Honor and the Nancy Putnam Howard Award
for Excellence in Horticulture. She has co-authored articles on pelargoniums in The
Herbarist and Green Scene as well as the book, Pelargonium: 2006 Herb of the
Year, written with Pat Crocker and Joyce Brobst. In addition to her HSA membership, Caroline
is a member of the Hardy Plant Society, the International Geranium Society and the Pennsylvania
Horticultural Society, and has served as herb judge at the Philadelphia Flower Show.
Gwen Barclay
Gwen is Director of Food Services at The International Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas.
A member of both the Pioneer Unit and the South Texas Unit of HSA, she is a nationally
recognized expert on herbs and herbal cuisine. Gwen and her mother, Madalene Hill, are
co-authors of Southern Herb Growing, and were awarded HSA's Gertrude B. Foster Award
for Excellence in Herbal Literature in 2005.
James H. Barrow, Ph.D.
A biology professor and long-time gardening enthusiast, James Barrow received his Ph.D. from
Yale University in 1951. His academic posts included serving as Professor and Chairman of the
Biology Department at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, and Chairman of the Biology
Department at Hiram College in Ohio. In 1967, he founded the Hiram College Biological Field
Station, a 126-acre site dedicated to undergraduate research, which was later renamed
the Hiram
College James H. Barrow Field Station. A Master Gardener, Dr. Barrow started and directed a
mentor program to involve children ages 13- to 15-years old with plants and gardening. Along
with his wife, HSA Past President Jamie Barrow, he helped create and maintain the Hiram Public
Gardens, one of which is named in his honor. Dr. Barrow was a member of The Herb Society of
America for over 10 years and maintained an HSA-registered Pelargonium collection in
Cincinnati, Ohio.
Susan Belsinger
Susan Belsinger is a culinary educator, food writer and photographer whose articles have been
published in Woman's Day, Organic Gardening, Victoria Magazine and
The Herb Companion. She is the author of Not Just Desserts--Sweet Herbal Recipes,
Flowers in the Kitchen, co-author, with Carolyn Dille, of The Garlic Book,
Herbs in the Kitchen, and The Greens Book, and co-author of Basil: An Herb
Lover's Guide with Thomas DeBaggio. Susan is a member of the Potomac Unit of The Herb
Society of America and the 2006 recipient of the Joanna McQuail Reed Award for
the Artistic Use of Herbs.
Joyce Brobst
Joyce Brobst is a longtime Pelargonium grower and enthusiast. She is a member of HSA's
Pennsylvania Heartland Unit and was president of The Herb Society of America from 1998-2000. She
is also a member of the International Geranium Society, the Hardy Plant Society and the
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and serves as a horticultural judge at the Philadelphia
Flower Show. Joyce holds B.S. and M.Ed. degrees in biology, an M.S. in education, and taught
high school biology for 25 years. She currently teaches botany, biology and environmental
science at the Reading Area Community College. Joyce has co-authored articles on pelargoniums
appearing in The Herbarist and Green Scene as well as the book, Pelargonium:
2006 Herb of the Year. Joyce and fellow Pelargonium enthusiast, Caroline
Amidon, maintain a collection of over 75 Pelargonium species, hybrids and cultivars.
Joyce received the Helen de Conway Little Medal of Honor in 2006.
Jane Cole
Jane Cole started growing herbs because she was fascinated with their many scents and has been
a member of HSA for 21 years. She owned and operated a herb and aromatherapy business for 12
years, has taught classes at Boerner Botanic Gardens and Green Bay Botanical Garden and has
presented programs for many garden clubs and organizations. Jane helped design and plant herb
gardens at Fort Howard Hospital, Hazelwood House and the Green Bay Botanical Garden. She lives
in DePere, Wisconsin, and is a member of the Wisconsin Unit of The Herb Society of America.
Karen England
Edgehill Herb Farm in Vista, California, is the home-based business of herb enthusiast Karen
England. In addition to being a member at large of The Herb Society of America, Karen is the
President of the Vista Garden Club and on the board of The International Herb Association. She
is a popular garden speaker and teacher of cooking with herbs and edible flowers in the San
Diego, CA area, specializing in the art of cooking with lavender, roses and scented geraniums.
Madalene Hill
Madalene was president of The Herb Society of America from 1986-1988 and has been a member since
1957. She organized the South Texas Unit and was a charter member of the Pioneer Unit. Madalene
was awarded HSA's Helen de Conway Little Medal of Honor in 1978 and the Gertrude B. Foster
Award for Excellence in Herbal Literature in 2005. She is an accomplished plantswoman, and her
garden at The International Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas, attracts visitors from all
over the world. She is curator of the Pioneer Unit's HSA-registered Pelargonium
collection at Festival Hill in Round Top, Texas.
Lorraine Kiefer
Lorraine Kiefer is the founder of the South Jersey Unit of The Herb Society of America and has
been a member of HSA for over 20 years. With her husband, Ted, she owns and operates Triple Oaks
Nursery & Herb Garden, a retail garden center and gift shop in Franklinville, New Jersey.
Lorraine is a regular garden columnist for several local newspapers and has contributed articles
to Green Scene and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Gardening for Fragrance. She
lectures regularly at the Philadelphia Flower Show on topics ranging from flower arranging and
kitchen gardening to herbal history and fragrant plants.
Mark Langan
Mark has a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Washington State University and has been
working in the horticulture field since he was a teenager. He and his wife, Karen, run Mulberry Creek Herb Farm, an organic herb
nursery in Huron, Ohio; lecture; and offer workshops on herbs and gardening. Mark is a member
at large of The Herb Society of America.
Sandy Manteuffel
Sandy Manteuffel is a member at large of The Herb Society of America and member of the Herb
Society of Greater Cincinnati. She received an HSA Certificate of Achievement in 2004, has an
extensive garden and has been growing herbs and scented pelargoniums for over 20 years. She has
presented many programs on herb gardening and scented pelargoniums for the Herb Society
of Greater Cincinnati, HSA, garden clubs, and the general public. A former registered nurse,
Sandy enjoys decorating her hand-made pottery with herbs and Pelargonium leaves. Her
article, "Pelargoniums in Pottery" was published in
The Herbarist in 2005.
Rexford Talbert
Rexford Talbert has been a member of The Herb Society of America since 1968 and is the recipient
of the Nancy Putnam Howard Award for Horticultural Excellence. He is the co-founder and former
chairman of the South Texas Unit and has served on the HSA Board of Directors. Rex served on the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration as Senior Information Research Scientist and is now retired. He has written and
lectured on herbs for over 40 years and has been published in The Herb Companion,
Kitchen Gardens, The Gilded Herb and The Herbarist, among others.
Arthur O. Tucker, Ph.D.
Dr. Tucker is a research professor at Delaware State University specializing in the chemistry
and identification of herbs. He is a member of the Rosemary Circle and the Northern New Jersey
Unit of HSA and has received HSA's Nancy Putnam Howard Award for Excellence in Horticulture, the
Helen de Conway Little Medal of Honor, and the Gertrude B. Foster Award for Excellence in Herbal
Literature. Art has a B.S. from Kutztown State College and M.S. and doctoral degrees from
Rutgers University. He is a nationally recognized expert on flavor, fragrance and medicinal
plants and has been published many times in scholarly and popular publications. Dr. Tucker is
co-author of The Big Book of Herbs with Thomas DeBaggio.
Ann Wilson
Ann is a pharmacist with a passion for plants. Growing up in rural Iowa, she began gardening at
a very early age, but her interest in herbs began when she moved from Indiana to Texas in 1986
and began landscaping with herbs. She is a regular volunteer in the Festival Institute Gardens
located in Round Top, Texas. Her special interests are the pelargoniums and the pharmacy
garden. Ann lives in Austin, Texas and is a member at large of The Herb Society of America.
Acknowledgements
Editorial assistance provided by Robin Siktberg. Research assistance provided by HSA
Librarian/Webmaster Christine Liebson, and HSA Assistant Librarians Holly Ferkol and Helen Tramte.
Thank you to Charlotte
Tancin, Librarian at the Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation, for
providing information on Rubens Peale with a Geranium. Additional thanks to Anne Abbott for interviewing Dr. James
Barrow, and to Ginny Miller and all of the guide contributors for
proofreading.
Image Credits
Images provided courtesy of Anne Abbott, Caroline Amidon, Gwen Barclay, Susan Belsinger,
Pat Kenny, Sandy Manteuffel, W. Richard Manteuffel and Barbara Williams. Image of Rubens Peale with a Geranium
provided courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Additional photos by Robin
Siktberg and Michele Meyers. Illustration from L'Héritier's Geraniologia provided by Dr.
Arthur O. Tucker.
Cover photographs: Pelargonium 'Orange' by Caroline Amidon, P.
'Candy Dancer' by Sandra Manteuffel, P. citronellum (P. 'Mabel
Grey') by Susan Belsinger, and P. elongatum by Pat Kenny.
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In Memory of Dr. James H. Barrow
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