I have spent part of a fall weekend hot on the trail of a woman named “Dodo Hanbury Forbes.” The quest began when I unpacked Ms. Forbes’ namesake plant, a tall, pink-flowered Phlox paniculata. The phlox was hale and hearty and is residing in a shady area on my back porch for a couple of days until it is ready for planting. In the meantime I have been trying to find out more about Dodo, searching the Internet and reference books on all variations of the name.
It is common practice for plant hybridizers to name prize specimens after wives, daughters, mothers, muses and other significant females. I expect Dodo Forbes fell into one of those categories. Given the maiden name, “Hanbury” and the last name, it is reasonable to assume that the real Dodo—was given name was probably something more formal, like Dorothy- was English or American.
DeGroot’s catalog refers to ‘Dodo Hanbury Forbes’ as “still one of the best pinks [phlox],” implying that it is an older variety. However in the fast-changing horticultural marketplace, this could mean that the Dodo is anywhere from twenty to one hundred years old.
The best clue I found came from a book available through Google Books. In his 2011 work, Phlox: A Natural History and Gardener’s Guide, author James H. Locklear refers to phlox growing at his in-laws’ former house in Warrensburg, Missouri. He describes those plants as “clear colored cultivars that bore splendid names like…’Dodo Hanbury Forbes’—bred a half century before by the likes of Ruys of Holland, Symons-Jeune of England and Scholhammer of Germany.” This means that ‘Dodo’ was most likely bred and introduced in the 1950’s and, for reasons listed above, I suspect an English breeder was responsible. A little more research uncovered references to a group of “Symons-Jeune phlox” from that period.
So…Dodo H. Forbes is still something of an enigma, but now I know that she meant something special to the plant breeders at Symons-Jeune. That and her lovely, clear pink blossoms are enough to earn her a place in my garden.