Garet Uemura Biography

 

 

 

After graduating from high school, I attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa on the Island of Oahu eventually receiving my B.S. in botany.� While at Manoa, I had the good fortune of meeting Mrs. Betsy Sakata though a mutual friend.�   Left: �Star of Siam � from one of the displays that I helped Mrs. Sakata with while in college.� S.o.S. was one of the lilies that Mrs. Sakata helped Richard Sacher introduce to the US market.�

 

While attending U.H., she mentored me in growing and showcasing waterlilies and lotus in commercial ponds.� Many of my fondest college memories were of my weekends that I would spend with her and her husband helping them with their plants.� While we would be working in her garden, repotting her lilies and lotus she would tell me the history of each of the plants � how it came about, or the story behind how she acquired it.� She would also quiz me on lily identification.� She would show me a leaf and expect me to able to identify which plant it came from.� At first I thought that this was an impossible task, but slowly-by-slowly I came to realize that there were different features that distinguished each variety � leaf color, lobes, sinus, shape, etc.�� To this day, I still consider her to be a second mother to me.�It was through her guidance that I was fortunate enough to be introduced to the I.W.G.S. and her various lily contacts throughout the world.����

 

Besides being one of the pioneers in bringing Thai lilies to the United States, Mrs. Sakata was the driving force behind introducing water gardening to Hawaii.�         Right: �Betsy Sakata� that I received from Mrs. Betsy Sakata.

Many of her displays were found in public areas such as the Ala Moana Shopping Center ; Honolulu Academy of Arts, and University of Hawaii at Manoa Krauss Pond.� She also helped to supply local nurseries with water plants for backyard gardeners.�  

Besides Mrs. Betsy Sakata, there have been several other influential people in my life as far as waterlilies are concerned.� These are individuals that I highly respect: Dr. Slearmlarp Wasuwat and his daughter Primlarp (Praw) of Thailand , Mrs. Bubpa of Thailand , Mr. Yutaka Shiroyama/Mr. Masaya Ueda of Mizu-no-Mori Aquatic Gardens in Japan as well as his staff, Mr. Kohichi Miyagawa of Japan, Mr. Mauro Bergamo of Italy, Mr. Craig Presnell of Florida , and last, but not least Mr. Ken Landon of Texas.� These individuals are working hard at promoting water gardening/preserving waterlilies and lotus for everyone to enjoy.�

 

Above: �Niemi�s Opal� which was hybridized by a dear friend, Jean Niemi of Honolulu , Hawaii who passed away in 2006.� She is deeply missed, but I am grateful that she entrusted me with this lily to remember her by.� Jean would often tell me about how she wished to hybridize a dark blue waterlily which she intended to name after her mother.� The lily had to be dark blue as it was one of the few colors that she could still clearly see.� However, her life was cut short too soon and she was unable to accomplish her goal. I will always remember Jean as the grandma who loved to travel!

 

I am often asked about my favorite lilies.� In particular, I have an attraction to the Nang Kwak (Indian Goddess) group of lilies from Thailand .� These lilies were introduced to Thailand by Dr. Slearmlarp Wasuwat who acquired them from India .� He popularized them in his country where they currently flourish.� These lilies were first introduced to the States by Betsy Sakata. My favorite Nang Kwak would have to be Nang Kwak � Buaburin which was hybridized by Mrs. Pensiri of Bangkok .� She named the lily after her shop, �Buaburin� � �bua� which means waterlily or lotus, and �burin� which means big city� in the Thai language.�

 

Besides waterlilies, I have a strange fascination with the Genus of waterlily-like plants called Nuphar.

 

For me, hybridization and preservation of waterlilies is a backyard hobby.� I have no intensions of making it a full time job as I am currently a science teacher at Hilo High School .� I usually do not sell my lilies as I do not have enough time to mass produce them.� I enjoy giving my lilies away to friends as gifts and to those who I feel will take care of them and preserve them.�

 

 

 

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