Kenneth Landon
Founder of IWC & IWPR, Founding Member of IWGS
Kenneth Landon
Ken has been growing, perfecting propagating techniques and hybridizing some of the most amazing waterlilies the world has seen.
He was a founding member of the IWGS.
He is a 2001 IWGS Hall of Fame member.
He is the founder of the IWC (International Waterlily Collection) and the IWPR (International Waterlily Preservation Repository).
He is called the “Species Lily Guy” and is proud of it.
If you want to know what a particular waterlilies parentage is, just ask Ken as he is one of the foremost experts alive today.
He is known as the Indiana Jones of the waterlily world as he has gone out and braved snakes, alligators and other nasty creatures in the search of new or sometimes very old waterlilies.
On numerous occasions he has been called upon to help Universities, Botanical Gardens including Longwood and Missouri Botannical to help them acquire materials necessary for their displays. When someone says “that waterlily is extinct or no longer around” they might want to check with Ken as many times he is able to say,”Oh, I have that one.”
He helped the country of Egypt reacquire the Nymphaea caerulea the Lily of the Nile. This was their sacred plant and thought to be extinct. He was able to supply enough seed for them to reintroduce it to the Nile River region.
He has built this amazing collection that is on display in San Angelo almost by himself. He built the walkways, the fences and done almost everything needed to revitalize what was once an eyesore pool that drew less than savory characters to the park. It is now a wonderful world class destination for waterlily enthusiasts from the world over.
He is the creator of the Incomparable Nymphaea ‘Blue Cloud’.
He is the creator of the Official Texas State Waterlily, Nymphaea ‘Texas Dawn’.
The IWC is the Number One Tourist Destination for the City of San Angelo, Texas.
He was instrumental in working with Senator Glenn Hegar, State Representative Drew Darby and Rolf Nelson to eliminate the ill conceived Texas White List Legislation.
Ken received national recognition from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Conservation Committee, for outstanding achievement in Environmental Awareness with the National DAR.
The IWC was recognized in the New York Times with an article titled – For Waterlilies, an Odd Refuge in Texas.
The IWC was recognized in the Washington Post with an article titled – What makes San Angelo, Tex., distinctive.
Ken is recognized in the new issue of Lily & Fin magazine March/April 2015.
The International Waterlily Collection was featured in the August/September 2008 Issue of Birds & Blooms©.
Click on the picture below to see a 2 Mb pdf of the article. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the file.
Special thanks go out to Diane C. Lyell and William Lyell the writers of the article. Photos taken by Diane C. Lyell. Permission to post by Stacy Tornio the Editor of Birds & Blooms. Copyright by Diane C. Lyell©
Tim Davis
Photographer, Web Designer, Hybridist and Leader of New Plant Acquisitions
I was given a few months to live at that time and I am still here fighting the Beast.
Photographer
Web Designer
Hybridizer
Leader of New Plant Acquisitions
Press Liaison
Waterlily Contest Lead
Melody Twombly
Plant Specialist and Leader of the Pond Teams
Melody is the only other active member of the IWC team.
She is a wife, mother and a graduate of Angelo State University with a Masters in Counseling Psychology working in the medical field.
She leads the other volunteers who rotate in and out throughout the year.
She also helps Ken maintain and catalog the IWC and IWPR inventory of plants, seeds and tubers.
Previous Plant Specialists
Ginger Eve George
Plant Specialist
She was Ken’s right hand person for nearly 20 years.
She knows almost as much about growing and propagating waterlilies as Ken.
Mindy Lynn Schafer
Plant Specialist
Pruned waterlilies, assisted in planting and fertilizing waterlilies, assisted in maintaining tuber material and helped in the collection and preservation of waterlily seeds and tubers.
Genna Duncan
Plant Specialist
Pruned waterlilies, assisted in planting and fertilizing waterlilies, assisted in maintaining tuber material and helped in the collection and preservation of waterlily seeds and tubers.
Cheyenne Duncan
Plant Specialist
Pruned waterlilies, assisted in planting and fertilizing waterlilies, assisted in maintaining tuber material and helped in the collection and preservation of waterlily seeds and tubers.
Robert Sterling Price
Mr. Robert Price was a teacher at the local high school. For years, he taught his students as well as aided Ken at the same time. As part of his education for his students, he had them assist with the re-potting of waterlilies, cleaning of the park and general environment management. The kids helped Ken make a better place in their own civic community. In return, they learned about the biology of waterlilies and associated plants in return from their teacher and Ken. They were able to take book knowledge they got from school and view it in practice in a practical application that showcases the beauty in nature. Some of these students ended up working part time with Ken because they learned that they enjoyed it or had a natural proclivity to do the work. A number waterlilies have been named for the students who have gone through this process.
His friendship and all of his helpful and inquisitive students are sorely missed.
Ken dedicated a waterlily to Robert posthumously and you can view it at the following link…
https://www.internationalwaterlilycollection.com/?project=nymphaea-robert-sterling-price