Diana Grenfell
{{Short description|British plantswoman (1935–2021)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Diana Grenfell
| image =
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| birth_name = Diana Margaret Eva
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1935|03|29|df=y}}
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| death_date = {{Death date and age|2021|03|19|1935|03|29|df=y}}
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| other_names =
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| years_active =
| known_for = breeding hostas
| notable_works =
}}
Diana Grenfell (29 March 1935 – 19 March 2021) was a British gardener and horticultural writer who was a world expert on hostas, a genus of ornamental plants.
Personal life
Diana Margaret Eva was born 29 March 1935 in Surrey, England. She was married to Roger Grounds.{{cite journal |date= |title=Obituary: Diana Grenfell |journal=The Garden |volume=June 2021 |page=15}} She used Diana Grenfell as her professional name.
Career
She started her own hosta collection and later, with her husband, founded and owned the Apple Court Gardens and Nursery in Hampshire. This contained around 1000 varieties, including at one time the plants that formed a National Collection of Hostas within the National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens scheme.{{cite news |last1=Powers |first1=Jane |title=Hosta la vista, baby |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/hosta-la-vista-baby-1.167860 |access-date=1 October 2021 |work=The Irish Times |issue=27 March 1999}} She introduced new cultivars.
In 1981 she was one of the founders of the British Hosta and Hemerocallis Society.
Publications
She wrote several books about hostas and daylilies including The New Encyclopedia of Hostas (2009), RHS Wisley Handbook: Hostas (2008) Octopus Publishing Group, pp96, {{ISBN|9781845333829}}, The Gardener's Guide to Growing Hostas (2001) David & Charles, 160pp, {{ISBN|9780715312773}}, The Gardener's Guide to Growing Daylilies (2001) David & Charles, 160pp, {{ISBN|9780715306956}} and Hosta: The Flowering Foliage Plant (illustrations by Jenny Brasier) (1990) Pavilion Books, 192pp, {{ISBN|9780713450729}}. She also co-authored The New Encyclopedia of Hostas with Michael Shadrack (Second edition 2009, Timber Press, {{ISBN|9780881929607}}).
Awards
In 1987 she was awarded the Alex J. Summers Distinguished Merit Award by the American Hosta Society.{{cite web | title=Reflections on the Summers Award | website=American Hosta Society (AHS) | url=https://www.americanhostasociety.org/Publications/41/SummersWIP.htm | access-date=September 1, 2021}} Grenfell was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society Veitch Memorial Medal in 2016.
References
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