Donald Craig was awed by the beauty of a rhododendron’s spectacular flaring petals and deep evergreen leaves. He took such delight in the magenta, purple, pink and white blooms that from the Kentville Agriculture Centre in the heart of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley he carefully developed several varieties of the glorious plant and in the process pioneered the introduction and popularization of rhododendrons not only in Nova Scotia, but throughout the Maritimes.
“Rhododendrons were his passion,” said his son Colin.
He started breeding them in 1952. In the following decades, he created several beautiful and hearty varieties, including the hybrid R. Minas Maid, which was developed in 1979 after crossbreeding other crosses developed more than a decade earlier at the Kentville centre, with the popular Mist Maiden.
The plant was immortalized when it was featured on a Canada Post stamp in 2009. “Its rich, vibrant pink flowers and dark green foliage create a striking display,” Craig explained at the time. “It is also very sturdy, reliable and easy to grow.”
A founding member and past president of the Rhododendron Society of Canada, Craig, who died on Oct. 11 at the age of 87, was admired for his award-winning rhododendron cultivars such as Acadia and Evangeline. His breeding program produced more than 15,000 seedlings. The centre’s rhododendron gardens, which he oversaw, has attracted thousands of visitors and won countless prizes at flower shows.
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