Nymphaea ‘Queen Jill'
Nymphaea ‘Queen Jill’
Nymphaea ‘Queen Jill’ is a tropical lily that was created by Ken Landon. It was created in 2010. It was created specifically with a color scheme of pink and green in mind to honor humorist Jill Conner Browne. She is a friend of the collection and came to town during LilyFest in 2010 to do a fundraising event for a local children’s charity in San Angelo. See more about Jill below the flower photos.
Nymphaea ‘Queen Jill’ Update
Jill Conner Browne, after being notified that she was being honored with a waterlily, looked for a local charity that she could help by offering her talents. The Children’s Advocacy Center of Tom Green County was the charity that she chose. The CAC of Tom Green County has a mission statement to champion the prevention of child abuse and to serve as an ally of abused children with a dedication to securing for each child a safe and nurturing home.
Because of Ken Landon and the International Waterlily Collection, Jill was able to raise almost $15,000 for the most vulnerable children of San Angelo. As the movie “Pay It Forward” depicted, one kindness can lead to others and indeed the naming of Nymphaea ‘Queen Jill’ had a very positive impact on some of the area’s children who could be impacted the greatest.
Here is a video showing the waterlily that was created as a dedication to the author and humorist, Jill Conner Browne famous for her Sweet Potato Queen series of books.
It is called Nymphaea ‘Queen Jill’
The Sweet Potato Queens is a women’s organization based in Jackson, Mississippi, that has over 6000 chapters in over 20 countries.
Organization
The Sweet Potato Queens concept has been explained and made popular by a series of books by Jill Conner Browne, born in Tupelo and raised in Jackson, who came up with the idea in 1982. Browne is the author of a number of books which form the backbone of the Sweet Potato Queen “movement. It involves a belief in a sisterhood that promotes self esteem and positive thinking, appealing to mostly middle-aged middle-class women. As John Ray, the ordering manager at Politics and Prose in Washington once said of the Sweet Potato Queen books, they began to empower women. In 2005, almost ten thousand women dressed up in costumes and came to Jackson for the annual Hal and Mal’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, proceeds from which benefited a local children’s hospital.
Each local chapter assumes its own theme and designs its own costumes. Some of the chapters participate in parades and fund-raisers in their local communities.
Sweet Potato Queen Books
(all by Jill Conner Browne)
