She calls it her quiet obsession. It crept up on her when she wasn’t looking and took her in new directions, opening up new worlds for her.
Viji Abi, 34, started cultivating water lilies in 2018. She had just given up her accounting career to take care of her two children (Abron and Abria, now 9 and 7 respectively).
Five years later, one of her varieties received global recognition from a panel of peer judges.
Water lily (Nymphaea Sree) She created a tropical day-flowering plant through crossbreeding that produces 52-petaled deep pink flowers with an orange base. In October, it was accepted as a new variety by the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS). “Being called a hybrid was a big thing for me. I didn’t even think my entry would meet the criteria,” Viji said.
The IWGS is a not-for-profit organization that registers new varieties based on formal submissions from members. The agency lists about 50 new varieties each year, said Kathy Jentz, director of the agency, who is also editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine and editor of the quarterly IWGS Water Garden Magazine, which publishes new species lists.
Viji dreamed of being published in this magazine, and after years of hard work, she said, “I did it.”
She first started growing water lilies in her garden in Thrissur, Kerala because they were so beautiful when they woke up. She became interested in the seemingly endless varieties and began researching different ones online.At the same time, she started selling tubers from her garden online, with prices ranging from $1,200 to $1,500.
The more she learned about water lilies, the smaller the numbers seemed.
“I came across Australian Victoria water lilies being sold in India for $12,000,” she said. “I was taken aback and questioned the rationale of those who would invest such money in this way. “
She quickly learned that Victorias could be easily interbred. It is huge in size, strong in vitality and adaptable (the flat leaves can grow up to 3 meters wide on the water), and can adapt to various environments. When hybridized, it can produce surprisingly vibrant flowers.
She decided to create a unique breed, and her hybridizing adventure began in 2020. “I faced numerous failures initially,” Viji said.
The climate of Kerala is too severe for some of the more fragile breeds. Then, every time she successfully created a hybrid, she found that it had already been named and listed.
One fine day in late 2021, she walked into the garden and knew she had won. She had never seen anything like the intricately layered pink and orange Nymphaea Sree (named after a friend).
She sent a photo to her mentor Somnath Pal. Somnath Pal is a 39-year-old project manager turned aquatic gardener who runs a nursery in Bhadrapur, Thane district. He said the breed was certainly unusual and perhaps even unique.
She submitted an application to the IWGS containing details of the plant’s progeny, precise measurements and color data (based on RHS color charts used by horticulturists around the world). Nearly two years later, after extensive review, they confirmed that, in the opinion of the IWGS, she had created a new species.
In the world of Indian hybrids, she is now a star. She may receive pleas and inquiries via email from strangers who admire her work. In fact, that’s how she first contacted Parr since he was named Hybridizer of the Month in the July 2017 issue of The Wall Street Journal.
“He’s getting inquiries from all over the world,” said Weegee, clearly excited about the possibility of her own. At the same time, she planted about 100 flowers on 2,400 square meters of land.
She laughs and says the excitement of planting a seed, waiting expectantly, doing your best but having no control over the outcome is a bit like taking a big exam. “Beyond that, it’s a source of great joy for me.”