This is one of my favorite daylilies of all time, H. 'BROOKWOOD WOW.' It was hybridized by Leo Sharp, a name you might recognize from recent pop culture.
Leo Sharp was my friend, and in the tapestry of the
people I have known in my life, he is most likely not the only criminal. In 2014, I worked for several months with a
reporter for The New York Times Magazine on a story eventually titled "The
Grandfather." The writer and I
became friends, exchanged dozens of our best photographs and stories of history
and interest with Leo. We talked for hours
on the daylily community, daylily people, and the daylily as a perennial. I lovingly and protectively shared a few of
my favorite Leo anecdotes and also my own copies of the beautiful Brookwood
catalogs. Sam Dolnick (the NYT writer)
felt empathy for Leo and that shone in his piece (https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/15/magazine/the-sinaloa-cartels-90-year-old-drug-mule.html) He became fascinated with Leo and his place
in the daylily world. The rights to
this story were sold for the movie 'The Mule,' and I have
deeply mixed feelings.
I wasn’t the only one who worked with the reporter, at
least one other AHS past-president was quoted, as was the late, internationally-great Gisela
Meckstroth. Gisela and I were both
shocked by the made for TV arrest, but neither of us were really surprised at
the presence of some international intrigue.
If you never had the chance to experience Leo in person, he was a
larger-than-life personality with a heart of gold and a dash of boast. We shared a Region, held the same regional
offices, traded stories and encouragement from the trenches of volunteer
service, and a love for perfectly formed porcelain-like daylilies. I've won Best In Show with a 'Brookwood'
daylily three times and won Best In Section and purple ribbons on countless
other 'Brookwood' entries. The photos of
Leo (expertly) selected for the NYT story break my heart every time I am
reminded of it, and my own last photos of visiting Brookwood Gardens are
haunting. Like I said, he was my friend,
too. I guess none of that really matters
in the end, though.
We are all covered in beautifully faulty facets - no
matter how deeply or flawful the sides are carved throughout our lives, I
believe you take the good with the bad in people and find a palatable medium
with your own moral compass. Following
his initial arrest, it was proposed to revoke every award he ever won. After his conviction, it was brought up
again- the scrubbing of our history to eliminate the negative. I was asked to remove posts on my blog of Brookwood
daylilies and a few stories of Leo. One
club refused to take plants with the 'Brookwood' prefix for their plant
sale. If it were only that easy to erase
those who violate the law or moral code from our membership. I don’t have any
delusions that AHS or the daylily will experience a spike in interest, or a
decline in membership because of the movies making and I dont think I can sit through it. Even the commercials bring back swirls of haunted conversation.
I remember Leo saying to me, in his own weed-filled garden about 10 years ago..."this one is going to bring me my first million." He was talking about 'Brookwood Julia Sermon.' He explained he had a patent and distribution deal for it, which is why he had to coyly refuse to sell me a piece that day.
I remember Leo saying to me, in his own weed-filled garden about 10 years ago..."this one is going to bring me my first million." He was talking about 'Brookwood Julia Sermon.' He explained he had a patent and distribution deal for it, which is why he had to coyly refuse to sell me a piece that day.
He was a character, for sure. Kind, greedy, compassionate, corrupt, and so smart - yet so flawed. But I believe Leo would get a kick out of Clint "playing him" in the movie.
And that thought is enough for me.
Here are some other blogs where I share stories, photos or history about Leo or Brookwood daylilies.
Enjoy the popcorn!
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