COVER STORY
YEW DELL BOTANICAL GARDENS
– Charting a New Course for This Plant and History Lover’s Paradise Pictured above: Theodore Klein (L) caught in an uncommon moment of rest in his Crestwood nursery around 1940. Yew Dell nursery & greenhouse manager, Jacob Stidham, in the current recreation of Yew Dell’s nursery
NURS ERY VIEWS • WINTE R 2019
In
many ways, Yew Dell’s origins and recent developments seem to be following the same path. Theodore Klein started his Crestwood based Yew Dell Farm in the early 1940s as a small operation that grew into one of the leading nurseries in the region. Over the years it developed into a working farm and homeplace with acres of yews and hollies destined for the wholesale trade. Following Klein’s death in 1998 at the age of 93, the property had lost a bit of its luster, but still proudly showed the bones of what had been extensive display gardens, plant collections and exquisite and functional buildings he had crafted and spotted around the property. Amidst mounting development pressure, a newly formed board of directors created a non-profit in 2002 and
worked with the Klein family to save the grounds and develop a public botanical garden for the region. Fast forward 17 years and Yew Dell now boasts an exploding plant collection, renovated and new award-winning architecture and rehabilitated gardens, a staff of more than 20 and a volunteer corps of more than 300. And among all the expansion sits a new nursery operation focused on offering up the fruits of Yew Dell’s growing plant collection, evaluation and introduction program. Headed up by KNLA board member, Jacob Stidham, the nursery focuses on woody and herbaceous ornamentals that have made it through rigorous testing and evaluation in the region. The overall goal is to fill the void that often exists between research, introduction and availability. Continued on page 14
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