Ethel Anson Peckham facts for kids

Ethel Anson (Steel) Peckham (1879–1965) was an American plant expert and artist. She was famous for growing and painting plants that grow from bulbs and rhizomes, like irises and daffodils. Ethel helped start the American Iris Society (AIS) and was one of its first leaders. She also wrote the rules for judging irises and helped create new types of irises. She received the highest awards from both the American and British Iris Societies for her amazing work.

About Ethel Peckham

Early Life and Family

Ethel Anson Steel was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on November 30, 1879. Her parents were William White Garrigues Steel and Juliet (Rauch) Steel. She went to private schools in England for her education.

In 1906, Ethel married Wheeler Hazard Peckham. They had two children, Content and Anson. The family lived in New Rochelle, New York.

A Leader in Plant Science

In 1920, Ethel Peckham helped create the American Iris Society (AIS). She also helped set up its first test garden. This garden was located at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). She stayed involved with both groups throughout her life.

At the NYBG, she became an honorary curator in 1927. This meant she helped look after the iris and narcissus plant collections. She also wrote articles for the NYBG's Journal and another publication called Addisonia.

Helping the American Iris Society

Ethel Peckham was a director at the AIS for ten years (1925–1935). During this time, she also managed the AIS test gardens. She took charge of the society's plant lists. She put together and edited huge lists in 1929 and 1939. These lists included 12,000 and 19,000 different types of irises. This was very important because iris plants were becoming popular. However, their names were often confusing.

Peckham also worked as the society's registrar and recorder. She created the first rules for judging irises. This made it possible to have fair iris competitions across the country.

Creating New Irises

Ethel Peckham was one of the first people to study dwarf irises carefully. She brought a thousand dwarf irises to the New York Botanical Garden. She is known for helping to create a new type of iris. These were called miniature tall bearded irises. She liked them because they were good for cut flowers. She called them 'table irises' and described this new group of plants. She introduced at least five new types of intermediate bearded irises. She also introduced at least 60 new types of tall bearded irises.

For a time, she was also a director of the Horticultural Society of New York. She gave talks about plants all over the country. She also wrote for gardening magazines. Ethel Peckham passed away on February 23, 1965.

Awards and Lasting Impact

In 1940, Ethel Peckham received the AIS Gold Medal. She was only the third person to get this award. She is still one of only about a dozen people to receive the society's highest honor. She also won the Gold Medal from the British Iris Society. This award was for her beautiful paintings of irises.

To honor her, the AIS created the Ethel Anson S. Peckham Award for Historic Iris in 2000.

Some of Peckham's paintings and copper engravings of irises are kept by the American Iris Society. Her iris paintings are also in a 2006 book. The book is called Classic Irises and the Men and Women Who Created Them.

The New York Public Library keeps some of her papers. They are part of the Chesebrough-Peckeham Family Papers collection.