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PLUMERIA ICONS

By Bud Guillot
April 14, 2010

There are many good hard working plumeria enthusiasts who are generously helping promote the love and appreciation of plumerias and give of their time and knowledge freely. Two of those individuals, whose contribution to the plumeria world, in their individual areas of expertise, are known throughout the plumeria growing areas of the world.

Jim Little has been providing a continuous flow of quality plumerias from his farm in Hawaii to plumeria enthusiasts throughout the world, for many years. He has written and published a bestselling book on plumerias and has developed many new beautiful and unusual cultivars through cross pollination. Jim has honored Henry Dupree, founding father of the Southern California Plumeria Society, by registering a plumeria “Henry Apples Dupree”. Jim honored Emerson Willis by naming and registering one of his newly developed cultivars “Mr. Ambassador”.

Jim named and registered another of his lovely developed cultivar Elizabeth Thornton in honor of that early pioneer and matriarch of the first plumeria society: The Plumeria Society of America. There are many gorgeous plumeria plants gracing the yards of proud plumeria growers that were created by Elizabeth Thornton. One of my favorites and show piece in my yard is Elizabeth Thornton’s Lemon Drop.

Emerson Willis got a later start in the love and appreciation of plumerias but immediately created a major bow wave of interest in plumerias and had to have one of each until realization set in that his yard had boundaries and Nancy wasn’t moving. Emerson became the “Johnny Apple Seed” of the plumeria world giving and selling plumerias all over south west Texas and all along the southern roads from California to Key West Florida earning the name “Mr. Ambassador” of the plumeria world. I have been in restaurants with Emerson when he offers plumerias plants to the waitress. Emerson is very generous with plumeria cuttings. Once we were in Hilo Hattie’s in Orange California talking to a beautiful young sales girl about plumerias and Emerson asked if she wanted a plumeria cutting and she said yes. Emerson asked for the keys to my Van and went out to my van and retrieved one of my three tips Guillot Sunset cuttings and gave it to the lovely lady. Emerson was an admiring friend of Elizabeth Thornton and at the time of her death wrote one of the most beautiful eulogies about Elizabeth’s life that I have ever read. If there were a possibility that Emerson would live longer than I; I would request that he write my Eulogy.

I took some artistic liberties with the two beautiful items created in memory of Elizabeth Thornton by Emerson Willis and JimLlittle and merged them. I took Emerson’s eulogy to Elizabeth and changed the fonts to script. I stole the color for the fonts from the blossom of Jim’s plumeria Elizabeth Thornton. I then framed Emerson’s lovely eulogy to Elizabeth Thornton with blossoms from Jim’s beautiful Elizabeth Thornton.