Two years later, after he’d had some disappointing results in trying to grow gloxinias in his little lean-to greenhouse on his parents’ farm in the Panhandle of Oklahoma, he wrote a letter to the editor of Flower Grower, asking that anyone interested in forming a society, based along the lines of the American Begonia Society, should write to him. 

One of the letters was from a beautician and passionate gardener, Peggie Schulz, who lived in Minneapolis. She offered to help in any way she could, and since Peggie was a frequently published writer on the subject of gardening, Elvin invited her to be his co-editor of the new magazine, christened THE GLOXINIAN, a name inspired by The Begonian. Peggie remained as co-editor through 1961.

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The Gesneriad Society – The Chapters


Shortly after Elvin McDonald and Peggy Schulz starting publishing THE GLOXINIAN, people around the United States started organizing interest groups that met to discuss their growing successes and failures with gesneriads. Some of the first of these to take root were the Golden West Branch in San Leandro, CA in 1952 and a chapter in the Chicago area in early 1953. By the spring of that year, the Gloxinia Society of Greater Kansas City was born. 

The next decade brought a period of unprecedented growth to the society. Interests groups formed and many of them blossomed into official chapters of the American Gloxinia and Gesneriad Society. By 1968, there were about a dozen fully-fledged chapters.

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2011 Awards of Appreciation Recipients

This year’s Award of Appreciation was presented to
Jo Anne Martinez.

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