The Veitch Memorial Medal is an international prize awarded annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
Goal The prize is awarded to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement of the science and practice of horticulture".
History The prize was first planned in 1870, in memory of James Veitch of Chelsea. At first, the prize was issued by the Veitch Memorial Trust and awarded at local horticultural shows, but from 1885 the Medals were awarded at the Orchid Conference. Since 1922, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), having taken over the Trust, has awarded the Medal. By 2010 over 500 medals had been presented.
Winners 19th and 20th centuries
1883: John Roberts (1830–1892) (Head Gardener, Charleville Castle, Co. Offaly, Ireland). 1886: Andy DeyBanffshire Journal http://www.banffshire-journal.co.uk/Features/Memory-Lane/Improvements-in-the-pipeline-7327819.htm 1887: A. Ives (Gardener to E.C. Jukes)The Veitch Memorial Prize Medal in my possession. Dated November 9, 1887 1891: John Heal (c. 1841 – 1925), William Watson (Assistant Curator - Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew)The Gardeners’ Chronicle ser.3:v.10 (1891) p.765. 1894: Victor Lemoine (France) (1823–1911),Judith M. Taylor George Nicholson (1847–1908). 1895: Donald McBean (1843–1903)(Scotland) Director Scottish Horticultural Society, Director Glasgow and West of Scotland Horticultural Society, obit. Gardeners' Chronicle 16 May 1903, p. 318. 1896: Charles Sprague Sargent (1841–1927) (US) 1897: Liberty Hyde Bailey (1858–1954) (US) 1899: Thomas Francis Rivers (1831–1899) 1901: Richard Irwin Lynch (1850–1924) Curator of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, Thomas Meehan (1826–1901)American Horticulture Honoured The Garden: An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Gardening in all its Branches, Volume 59 (June 22, 1901), page 446 by William Robinson (1826–1901) (US) 1904: Lucien Louis Daniel (France) 1906: Ernest Henry Wilson (1876–1930) 1907: John Gilbert Baker (1834–1920); Worthington George Smith (1835–1917) 1913: Sir Trevor Lawrence, 2nd Baronet (1831 – 1913) 1921: Robert Lloyd Praeger (1865–1953) (Ireland) 1922: William Jackson Bean (1863–1947) 1923: Richard Irwin Lynch (1850–1924), Curator of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden (second award) 1924: William Rickatson Dykes (1877–1925);Ray Desmond John Hoog Lilian Snelling 1879–1972)(silver medal) 1925: David Prain (1857–1944) 1926: George Herbert Engleheart (1851–1936); Matilda Smith (1854–1926) (silver medal) 1927: George Forrest (1873–1932) 1928: Gertrude Jekyll (1843–1932) 1929: Alfred Barton Rendle (1865–1938) 1930: William Wright Smith (1875–1956) 1931: Otto Stapf (1857–1933) 1932: Leonard Cockayne (1855–1934); Sir Fredrick William Moore (1857–1950) 1933: Arthur GroveMassachusetts Horticultural Society - Forgotten Books 1934: Francis Kingdon-Ward (1885–1958) 1935: Sir Edward James Salisbury (1886–1978) (of Radlett); Arthur Disbrowe Cotton 1936: Robert L Harrow; Arthur William Hill (1875–1941) 1937: John Hutchinson (1884–1972), George Russell (1857–1951) 1938: Morley Benjamin Crane (1890–1983) 1939: Isabella Preston (1881–1965) 1941: Eleanor Malby 1945: William Henry Judd (1888–1946) (of Arnold Arboretum) 1947: Frederick Chittenden 1948: Collingwood Ingram (1880–1981); George Sherriff (1898–1967) 1949: Amos Perry 1950: Wilfrid Jasper Walter Blunt (1901–1987) 1951: John Macqueen Cowan 1952: Bertie Thomas Percival Barker 1953: William Bertram Turrill (1890–1961) (of Kew), Nellie Roberts (silver medal) 1954: Dorothy Renton (of Branklyn), Mary Knox-Finlay (of Keillour Castle) 1955: Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962),T. J. Hochstrasser, ‘West, Victoria Mary Sackville- (1892–1962)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 24 May 2014 Ralph Peer (1892–1960) 1956: Albert Burkwood (1890–1978) 1957: Charles Henry Curtis (1870–1958); Patrick Synge (1884–1967); Harold Hillier (1905–1985) 1960: Frederick Claude Stern (1874–1967) 1961: T. Johnson 1962: Frank Reinelt; Miles Hadfield (1903–1982) 1963: Percy Cane (1881–1976); Frederick Augustus Secrett (1886–1964); Sir Eric Humphrey Savill (1895–1980) 1964: Frances Perry (1907–1993), William Thomas Stearn (1911–2001) Christiaan de Wet Meiring (1900–1976 Caledon Botanical Gardens, South Africa) 1965: William Douglas Cook (New Zealand) (1884–1967), A. Nisbet (Silver medal) 1966: Graham Stuart Thomas (1909–2003), Eben Gowrie Waterhouse (1881–1977), John Scott Lennox Gilmour (of Cambridge University Botanic Garden), (1906-1986) Leonard Broadbent (1916–2002)EBSCOhost Connection 1967: Alex J Burnett, Elizabeth Hess (Principal of Studley College) 1968: John Stuart Yeates (New Zealand) (1900–1986), Maurice Mason (1912–1991) 1969: Sir Thomas Neame (1885–1973), Donald Wyman (1904–1993) 1970: Mary Pope (Flower arranger) 1971: B.L.Burtt (1913–2008), Frances Perry, Helen Richardson (Daffodil breeder); W. Bishop, T. Durrant, A. Westall (silver medal) 1972: Xenia Field (1894–1998), Roy Lancaster (born 1938); Mrs T. Rochford; E. Smith (silver medal) 1973: Countess of Haddington 1974: John Bergmans (Netherlands) (1892–1980); R. Fiske 1975: J. Fraser Thomas Robert Noel Lothian (1915–2004) 1976: Alice Margaret Coats (1905–1978); Margaret Stones (silver medal) 1977: Iris Bannochie (1914–1988); A. Gray 1978: Gavin Brown (1910–1987); Frederick Alkmund Roach (1909–2004), B. Fry 1979: Fred Whitsey (1919–2009); Gordon Rowley, J.W. Goodwin (of Pukeiti Gardens); S. Coe 1980: A. Healey, F. Keenan, S. Orr (silver medal), F. Potter, Robert John Garner 1981: David Robinson (1928–2004), F. Cleary, David McClintock 1982: P. Teunissen 1983: P.B.J. Joubert (South Africa) 1984: (1921–2010), Mary Grierson (1912–2012), R. Beaumont 1985: Mavis Batey (1921–2013); K. Andrew, N. Luitse, C. Mitchelmore, Margaret Stones 1986: Ambrose Congreve (1907–2011), R. Sagarik 1987: Rachel Lambert Mellon (1910–1914); K. Beckett, Victor Fowler; R. Mellon 1988: E. Napier, L. Pemberton; T. Wright 1989: John Alfred Codrington (1898–1991) Helen Robinson (1919–2004), J. Glazebrook, E. Scholtz, Ashley Stephenson Carl Ferris Miller (1921–2002) 1990: Chen Hang (born c. 1931), M. Arai, Elizabeth Scholtz 1991: John L. Creech (1920–2009), Lawrence James Metcalf (1928–2017) 1992: Patrice Fustier (French), D. G. Hessayon (born 1928), Olive Hilliard, Joy Larkcom, J. Ravenscroft 1993: Brent Elliot, Sir Peter Smithers, Brenda Hyatt, H. Suzuki 1994: David C.H. Austin, R. Birchall, A. Kenrick, Dick van Gelderen, T. Venison, Wang Dajun 1995: Gilly Drummond, Mikinori Ogisu, A. Paterson, Jane Pepper (1945-), B. Self 1996: Gloria D. Barretto (1916-), B. Howard, H. Noblett, C. Riley, S. Spongberg, D. Steed, Michael Upward (–2015), R. Waite 1997: Ray Bilton (1937–2012); B. Briggs, Brian Rittershausen; Kiat Tan 1998: Bruce Macdonald (Missouri Botanical Garden); R. Aylett; J. Bleasdale; Peter Catt; K. Cockshull; R. Elliot; E. Hetherington, M. Rix 1999: Sonja Bernadotte (1944–2008); Helen Dillon (1938-); Christopher Grey-Wilson; P. Hemsley; Hugh Johnson; James H. McColl; J. Quinlan, Brian and Maurice Woodfield 2000: William Flemer, F. Last; Anna Pavord; Daphne Vince-Prue; Jean O'Neill Date unknown: Alfred Daniel Hall (1864–1942) Date unknown: Thomas Wallace (1891–1965) Date unknown: Werner Rauh (1913–2000) Date unknown: Alan Bloom (1906–2005) Date unknown: George Hermon Slade AM (1910–2002) (Australian orchid collector)
21st century (See the Royal Horticultural Society Green Manual for further reference.) 2001: Francis Higginson Cabot (1925–2011) (US/Canadian), Brian Duncan, Silviero Sansavini (Italy), P. Thoday 2002: Piet Oudolf (born 1944) (Dutch), Stella Ross-Craig (1906–2006),, A. Jellyman B. Machin, John Massey, G. Ogden, Martin Rickard, Lady Emma Tennant, R. Williams 2003: Martin John Bukovac, Richard Bisgrove, J. Dowle, J. Moorby, Peter Raven (US), Shirley Sherwood, Vicompte Philippe de Spoelberch (Belgian) 2005 : Anne-Marie Evans (A leading figure in botanical illustration, her worldwide influence has led a resurgence of interest in and greater understanding of the depiction of plants) W.H. Frederick, M. Solomon, Sir Richard Storey (1937-), Timothy Whiteley 2006: Phillip Cribb, Otto Eisenhut, Aljos Farjon, A. Langton, Norman Looney 2007: Rex Dibley, Daniel John Hinkley (born 1953), Lord Charles Howick2007 RHS Manual 2008 Dr James B. Beard for his lifelong contribution to the development and application of scientific principles to turfgrass culture. Dr Beard founded the International Sports Turf Institute and has served the international horticultural community for the past 50 years through research, teaching and leadership. John Nelson for his outstanding practical work over many years in the restoration of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, one of Cornwall's best-known tourist attractions. 2009 David Wheeler (founder and editor of Hortus: A Gardening Journal)The Garden, August 2009, page 512 (Royal Horticultural Society) Dr Joan Morgan (writer and historian) Jozef van Assche (Secretary ISHS) 2010: Stefan Buczacki, Bob Brown, Arabella Lennox-Boyd, Haruhiko Nagata, Jennifer Owen 2011: Graham Ross (Australia), Christopher Bailes (U.K.), Rosemary Alexander (U.K.), Keshab Chandra Pradhan (Sikkim, India) 2012: Susyn Andrews (U.K.), John Elliott (Singapore), Chris Lane (U.K.), Hugh McAllister (U.K.), Beverley McConnell 2013 Peter Del Tredici, Peter Furniss, Sue Minter, Alec Pridgeon and Margaret Owen Dr Keith Hammett, New Zealander whose horticultural interests include Sweet Peas, Dahlias and Clivias 2014: Mark Chase, Martin Gardner, Antonio de Almeida Monteiro, Philip Baulk and Gianfranco Giustina (Italy)2014 RHS Awards for Exceptional Contributions to Horticulture Announced 2015: Gillian Barlow, Bob Berry, Neil Bragg, Fergus Garrett, Charles Nelson, Penny Snell and John Pilbeam 2016: Sarah Carey, Diana Grenfell, Ernst van Jaarsveld (of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden), Marco Polo Stufano and Dr Ken Thompson. 2017: Dominic Cole, Rod Leeds, Philippe Lecoufle, William McNamara and Andrew McIndoe 2018: Prof Rosemary Collier, Gerald Edwards, Michael Hudson and Dr Douglas Needham. 2019: Ursula Drioli, Fabio Garbari, John Tan Jiew Hoe and Rachel Lever 2020: John Anderson, Owen Johnson, Rosie Peddle, Derek Spicer and Ian Young 2021: Junonia Colley, John Hughes, Phil Lusby and Long Yayi 2022: James Alexander-Sinclair, Dr Matthew Jebb, Harri Lorenzi, Paul Meyer and Thomas Pakenham 2025: Charlotte Allender, Arit Anderson, Tony Avent, Koen Camelbeke, Catherine Dawson, and Maïté Delmas 2026: Kevin Belcher, Dr Gary Firth, Andrew Gaunt, Lynden Miller, Roger Parsons, Abraham Rammeloo
See also
List of agriculture awards
References
External links Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Awards Nominations