JARS v64n2 - In Memoriam: Merle Sanders

In Memoriam: Merle Sanders
Frances Burns

On November 22, 2009, Eugene Chapter lost one of its long time-members, just weeks after being awarded the chapter's Bronze Medal. Known as a hard working man from the Melrose area of Roseburg - a man with a great big smile who described himself as "just an old logger" - Merle Sanders wore other hats besides a steel hard hat. He a was knowledgeable gardener, a hybridizer of rhododendrons and daylilies and his garden was full of lovely perennials. With all that, he also preached the Biblical word to a flock of believers in his area. Be that as it may, Merle's words "Prune, Prune, Prune!" will forever ring in my psyche!

Big round colorful trusses on nicely shaped plants were Merle's goal - he was a master at raising bushy plants with hundreds of trusses. When deadheading, he counted every bloom on each bush he pinched off - no unsightly dried seed pods on Merle's rhodies. When cedar bark was thought to contain deleterious elements when used as a mulch on rhododendrons, Merle used and promoted cedar bark to good advantage. When showing his trusses, he won his share, but was as disappointed as most if a favorite wasn't at least a runner-up to best in show, but didn't bemoan afterwards that "the judges just didn't know what they were doing!" as one often hears. Some of his registered hybrids are 'Gentle Giant', 'Melrose Flash', 'Royal Ruffles', 'Dreamy Cream', 'Just a Pink', and 'Belva's Joy'.

Merle wrote many articles for the chapter newsletter over the years, full of good ideas - not so great on style or spelling but courageously and purposefully written out in long hand. Few members were so generous as he when it came to newsletter contributions. When visiting our garden some years ago, he and Belva brought us a couple of his un-bloomed potted seedlings. One of them is a cheery plant with a somewhat lax truss of gorgeous pink blooms. Probably not Merle's choice but I call it "Editor's Choice."

Missing this good man, besides his beloved rhododendrons, and Eugene Chapter, are Merle's widow, Belva, and their son, Dennis, who has a named hybrid of his own, 'Dennis's Gem'. Perhaps Dennis will walk in his father's footsteps.