From Dutch Soil to American Blooms: The Remarkable Rise of Lambertus C. Bobbink
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
July 3, 1939
On this day, my most astute garden enthusiasts, a Dutchman of remarkable talents was honored in a manner that would make lesser horticulturists turn positively green with envy.
Yes, dear readers, I speak of none other than Lambertus C. Bobbink, whose very name has become synonymous with rose cultivation excellence in our fair nation.
As The Asbury Park Press dutifully reported, the New York Botanical Gardens played host to a gathering of the horticultural elite, where the literary luminary Pearl Buck herself—yes, the very same who penned The Good Earth—graced the proceedings to dedicate a rose garden in Bobbink's honor.
A plaque was unveiled bearing these words:
"To honor Lambertus C. Bobbink, a great rosarian whose counsel and generosity helped to make this garden possible for the enjoyment of all."
One might wonder what extraordinary journey could lead to such accolades, and I, dear readers, shall reveal all.
Our protagonist arrived from Holland in 1896, a mere immigrant with soil beneath his fingernails and botanical dreams germinating in his mind. Born in Osterbeek, Holland (though some reports claim Arnhem—even greatness cannot escape clerical inconsistencies), Mr. Bobbink had completed his horticultural education through apprenticeships spanning Holland, France, Germany, and England before setting his sights on American shores.
His first visit in 1895 was merely as a representative for Dutch nurserymen seeking markets for their Holland-grown treasures. Despite initial disappointments, Bobbink—with that peculiar foresight that separates visionaries from mere gardeners—recognized untapped potential and returned the following year with permanent intentions.
Imagine, if you will, this ambitious Dutchman purchasing a modest parcel in Rutherford, New Jersey—hardly the grand estate one might expect for a future titan of the gardening world!
Fortune smiled upon our protagonist in 1898 when he encountered Frederick L. Atkins, an English nurseryman whose talents complemented his own. Their partnership blossomed into Bobbink and Atkins, which would eventually grow into one of the world's largest horticultural enterprises. How charmingly practical that they established their domestic arrangements on Herrick Street, a mere stone's throw from their burgeoning business on Paterson Avenue!
By the 1920s, their original few acres had expanded to several hundred—a veritable empire of cultivation! And when foreign plant importation was prohibited in 1917, their company stood ready to supply the nation from its own nurseries. How fortuitous indeed!
In 1911, Bobbink achieved what many had deemed impossible: successfully cultivating the first crop of budded Hybrid Tea Roses on American soil!
One must appreciate the magnitude of this accomplishment!
Bringing these temperamental European beauties to flourish in the New World required a mastery that few possessed and a determination that fewer still could maintain.
Not content with this singular achievement, our botanical virtuoso turned his talents to azaleas, introducing the Azalea Rutherfordiana in 1935—cleverly immortalizing his adopted hometown in the annals of horticultural history.
How fitting that a man who transplanted himself so successfully should excel at helping other foreign specimens take root and thrive! One might say he understood, better than most, the precise conditions required for adaptation and growth.
His legacy extends beyond mere plants, though they would be achievement enough. The rose garden at the New York Botanical Gardens stands as testament to his generosity, having received thousands of roses from his own collection. His expertise in old-fashioned roses particularly distinguished him among his peers—a man who honored tradition while pioneering new frontiers.
The gardening world did not fail to recognize such contributions. Mr. Bobbink received the American Rose Society's honor medal, the Johnny Appleseed Award from the Men's Garden Club of America in 1946, and the Charles M. Totty Memorial Gold Medal in 1948. In 1947, he was named the outstanding horticulturist in the United States—an honor that, one imagines, even his modest Dutch sensibilities must have found gratifying!
Mr. Bobbink maintained active membership in a veritable alphabet soup of prestigious organizations: the American Association of Nurserymen, American Rose Society, New York Florists Club, New York Horticultural Society, Eastern Nurserymen's Association, New Jersey Association of Nurserymen, New Jersey Florists Association, All-American Rose Selections, and National Association of Plant Patent Owners. One wonders when the man found time to actually garden with such a demanding social calendar!
Alas, dear readers, even the most vibrant blooms must eventually fade.
On December 9, 1947, at the age of 84, Lambertus C. Bobbink departed this earthly garden after a brief illness at Hackensack Hospital, survived by his wife, the former Gertrude Schmidt, and one daughter, Mrs. Dorothea White.
As we contemplate Mr. Bobbink's remarkable contributions to American gardening, one cannot help but reflect on how a simple immigrant's passion transformed our landscape. His legacy blooms in countless gardens across the nation, a living testament to what can grow from humble beginnings when nurtured with expertise and vision.
The next time you admire a particularly splendid hybrid tea rose, perhaps spare a thought for the Dutch gentleman who made it possible for such continental sophistication to grace your garden.
After all, dear readers, behind every beautiful bloom lies a story of human ingenuity—and occasionally, a touch of horticultural genius that, like the most perfect rose, appears but once in a generation.
