Isabella Preston
Isabella Preston immigrated to Guelph in 1912. She preferred independent reading to attending lectures and became a self-taught expert on flowering ornamentals. She started courses in the Department of Horticulture in 1912. Preston was one of Canada’s most successful breeders of ornamental plants. In 1920, at age 39, she accepted a position at the Central Experimental Farm (CEF) in Ottawa. This was a coup for women in science as professional horticulture was a man’s world. For the next 26 years, until she retired, she bred ornamentals acclimated to for the various geographic regions in Canada.
She gained international recognition by introducing the acclaimed "George C. Creelman" lily and became the first professional woman Hybrist in Canada in 1916. This was accomplished when she crossed two lilies, L. regale and L. sargentiae, that originated in China and produced a plant she named in honour of George Creelman, president of the OAC. Creelman Lily (Lilium × princeps ’George C. Creelman’), a six foot tall white lily. The "George C. Creelman" lily was the first hybrid lily well suited to the Canadian climate. Preston wrote numerous articles on various horticultural subjects, and in 1929 published Garden Lilies, the first book about lily cultivation in Canada. During World War II, Preston acted as an advisor to the Royal Canadian Air force on plants for camouflaging aircraft hangars. Preston retired to Georgetown, Ontario, in 1946, where she planted and maintained wonderful flower beds at her home. In 1956, the North American Lily Society established the “Isabella Preston Trophy”, still awarded for best stalk in the show. She died on 31 December 1965 in Georgetown, Ontario. Following her death, 139 of her gardening and plant books, along with her personal archives, were donated to the Royal Botanical Gardens Library in Hamilton Ontario. Preston Street in town is named after her.
She gained international recognition by introducing the acclaimed "George C. Creelman" lily and became the first professional woman Hybrist in Canada in 1916. This was accomplished when she crossed two lilies, L. regale and L. sargentiae, that originated in China and produced a plant she named in honour of George Creelman, president of the OAC. Creelman Lily (Lilium × princeps ’George C. Creelman’), a six foot tall white lily. The "George C. Creelman" lily was the first hybrid lily well suited to the Canadian climate. Preston wrote numerous articles on various horticultural subjects, and in 1929 published Garden Lilies, the first book about lily cultivation in Canada. During World War II, Preston acted as an advisor to the Royal Canadian Air force on plants for camouflaging aircraft hangars. Preston retired to Georgetown, Ontario, in 1946, where she planted and maintained wonderful flower beds at her home. In 1956, the North American Lily Society established the “Isabella Preston Trophy”, still awarded for best stalk in the show. She died on 31 December 1965 in Georgetown, Ontario. Following her death, 139 of her gardening and plant books, along with her personal archives, were donated to the Royal Botanical Gardens Library in Hamilton Ontario. Preston Street in town is named after her.