Jelena de Belder-Kovačič

Jelena de Belder-Kovačič
Born	Jelena Kovačič (1925-08-23)23 August 1925 Jasenovac, Croatia
Died	31 August 2003(2003-08-31) (aged 78) Krk, Croatia
Other names	Jelena de Belder
Occupation(s)	horticulturist, botanist
Years active	1955–2003

Jelena de Belder-Kovačič (23 August 1925 – 31 August 2003) was a Slovenian-Belgian botanist and horticulturist, who worked extensively on the taxonomy and preservation of plant specimens, gaining an international reputation for her development of the Kalmthout and Hemelrijk Arboreta. Several varieties of plants she cultivated were recognized with awards from the Royal Horticultural Society in London and she was elevated to Baroness by Albert II of Belgium for her contributions to dendrology.

Early life

Jelena Kovačič was born on 23 August 1925 in Jasenovac, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes to Elza (née Zorčič) and Andrej Kovačič. Her parents were ethnically Slovene and originally from Bizeljsko in the Municipality of Brežice. At the time of her birth, Andrej was employed as an agronomist on the Belje estate in the Baranya region of what is now Croatia. She attended elementary school in Kneževo and went on to study at the gymnasiums in Osijek and Ptuj. After completing her secondary education, Kovačič enrolled at the University of Zagreb in 1947. Graduating in 1951, with a degree in agronomy, she worked for a year at the city nursery on the outskirts of Zagreb and then in 1953 was granted a rare permit from Yugoslavia to study abroad. She spent 1953 in Denmark, studying at the Petersen nursery and traveled on to Germany to study at horticultural sites in Schleswig-Holstein. The following year, she arrived in Zundert in the Netherlands to study at the Lombarts Nursery.^[1]

Hearing that there were historical and rare Stewartia pseudocamellia trees at the old Kort Nursery in Kalmthout, Kovačič bicycled to the site.^[2][3] She discovered that the nursery, founded in 1856 had closed in 1930, but had been purchased in 1952 by a diamond merchant, Robert De Belder and his brother Georges. The brothers became interested in the site when the ancient collection of trees were in danger of being cleared for a housing project. They purchased the plot and expanded the acquisition to encompass about 30 acres (12.5 hectares), attempting to protect the most significant varieties of trees.^[2] The brothers also founded the International Dendrology Society (IDS) at Kalmthout in 1952, to promote preservation and conservation of rare or endangered woody plants.^[1] During her visit, Kovačič suggested that Robert try propagating his witch hazel plants from cuttings, rather than by transplantation.^[3] Joined by their interest in plants, a romance developed between Robert and Kovačič, who were married within three months^[2] and she permanently settled in Belgium.^[4]

Career

Hamamelis × intermedia 'Jelena'

The first witch hazel grown from cuttings on the property, which would become known as the Arboretum Kalmthout, bloomed in January 1955. The shrub had intense orange-brown flowers which reflected the winter sun. Robert named the variety, Hamamelis × intermedia Jelena and entered it that year at an exhibition held in London by the Royal Horticultural Society. The shrub earned a Certificate of Merit,^[3] leading the couple to design what would become one of the most well-known arboreta in the world.^[5] While Robert worked by day in the diamond business in Antwerp, she focused on sorting through the over-grown landscape to label and identify the plants.^[1][6] In the evenings and when he was not working, Robert worked with Georges to dig the ponds and create the vistas while de Belder worked to develop the plants for the spaces they created.^[2][6]

In April 1955, the couple invited Jože Strgar(sl) to the estate to study and de Belder paved the way for his studies with other European nurseries.^[7] Within ten years, the arboretum had reached capacity and the couple bought another, much larger estate, Hemelrijk in Essen, Belgium,^[2] containing 250 acres (101.171 hectares).^[6] Traveling widely with the International Dendrology Society, the couple collected specimens and created an international exchange network for plant seeds and educational sharing. They also created an extensive library of rare books on botany and horticulture.^[1] Known for their open-door policy of inviting students as well as the general public to study at the facility, the couple hosted more than 350 students, including noted Japanese botanist, Mikinori Ogisu.^[2]

De Belder also began breeding plants, focusing on Hamamelis, Hydrangea and Rhododendron and trees of the genera Malus and Prunus.^[1] The couple experimented with Hydrangea paniculata, creating cultivars, including Brussels Lace, Burgundy Lace, Green Spire, Little Lamb, Pink Diamond, The Swan, Unique and "White Moth"^[8] among others, as well as Spreading Beauty from Hydrangea serrata.^[5][9] Typically gardens feature only one witch hazel, as the plant requires a large growing space. De Belder, propagated forty varieties at Kalmthout.^[3] One of the seedlings named after their daughter Diane, received the Award of Garden Merit in 1993 from the Royal Horticultural Society for its intense red color.^[2]

During an economic decline fueled by the oil crisis, Robert's diamond business suffered in the 1980s, and the couple turned the arboretum over to the Province of Antwerp.^[2] They relocated to their second estate at Hemelrijk and de Belder continued to propagate ornamental plants. She was the author of a cookbook, Okus po cvetju: kulinarično popotovanje (Ljubljana: DZS, 1994 [A taste for flowers: a culinary journey])^[1] and Life Begins in Autumn (1998).^[2] De Belder made a series of documentaries which were broadcast in Slovenia on the national Radiotelevizija Slovenija. These included List in cvet (Leaf and Flower, 1994), Okus po cvetju (Taste of Flowers, 1998) and Okus po plodovih (Taste of Fruit, 2003).^[4] After Robert's death in 1995, de Belder was elevated to a Baroness by Albert II of Belgium for her contributions to dendrology.^[4][10] In 1998, she served as the vice president of the Royal Horticulture Society.^[5]

Death and legacy

De Belder died while vacationing on the island of Krk on 31 August 2003^[11] In 2011, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Slovenian independence, the government of Slovenia planted a linden tree in the Arboretum Kalmthout in honor of de Belder.^[12]

References

Citations

1. Strgar Schulz 2013.
2. Bruce 2018.
3. van de Kaa 1998.
4. Dnevnik 2003.
5. Harvey 2004.
6. Horyn 2007.
7. Bavčar 2006, p. 36.
8. "The Plant Hunter: Jelena de Belder – Her Plants Live on".
9. Lancaster & Wesley 2008, pp. 2–3.
10. La Libre Belgique 2003.
11. Dnevnik 2003.
12. Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2011.

Bibliography

• Bavčar, Julijana (December 2006). "Jelena de Belder-Kovačič: Tenkočutna učiteljica" [Jelena de Belder-Kovačič: A tenacious teacher] (PDF). Deloindom (in Slovenian). No. 20. Ljubljana, Slovenia. pp. 33–37. OCLC 649379813. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018. PDF pages are out of order; Page 34 is followed by page 36 and 37, while page 35 is the last page.
• Bruce, Jonny (16 February 2018). "Witch hazels cast their spell". Financial Times. London, England. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
• Harvey, M.J. (2004). "Jelena de Belder". victoriarhodo.ca. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: Victoria Rhododendron Society. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
• Horyn, Cathy (1 April 2007). "The Meadowlands". The New York Times. New York, New York. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
• Lancaster, Neil; Wesley, Wendy (December 2008). "Hydrangea paniculata" (PDF). RHS Plant Trials Bulletin (23). London, England: Royal Horticultural Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
• Strgar Schulz, Bernarda (2013). "Belder Kovačič, Jelena de, baronica (1925–2003)" [Belder Kovačič, Jelena de, baroness (1925–2003)]. Slovenska biografija (in Slovenian). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti, Znanstvenoraziskovalni center SAZU. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
• van de Kaa, Romke (22 January 1998). "Hamamelisfeesten in Arboretum Kalmthout; De toverhazelaar van de barones" [Hamamelis festivities in Arboretum Kalmthout: The witch hazel of the baroness] (in Dutch). Amsterdam, Netherlands: NRC Handelsblad. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
• "Décès de Jelena de Belder-Kovacic". La Libre Belgique (in French). Brussels, Belgium. 2 September 2003. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018. Death of Jelena de Belder-Kovacic
• "Slovenian linden tree tilia cordata in Belgian Arboretum Kalmthout". mzz.gov.si. Ljubljana, Slovenia: Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 3 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
• "Umrla Jelena De Belder-Kovačič" [Jelena De Belder-Kovačič died]. Dnevnik (in Slovenian). Ljubljana, Slovenia. 2 September 2003. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.