Margie Brown

Margie Brown in her greenhouse with variegated C. asiaticum. 

Margie Brown is a gardener, photographer, plant hybridizer and Crinum lover in Vidor, TX.  She has provided many of the photographs for this Web site.  One part of gardening is to know how to collaborate with other gardeners, to share information and chores.  Marcelle Sheppard reports that she has relied upon Margie Brown over the years to help "get the work done."

Margie Brown has an undisputed green thumb, and her husband, Lanny, is a garden construction expert.  Together they have created a small Eden in East Texas where Margie has grown and evaluated uncounted Crinum for Marcelle.  Margie Brown is a plant hybridizer in her own right, and has created beautiful rainlily hybrids. 

Lanny and Margie (and Gidget) on Bridge over one of their garden pools
Photo ©Mike Burnett

Margie reports that her favorite Crinum types are the ones with red or variegated leaves.  She says, "They aren't necessarily the best bloomers but I love the colored foliage and you have can have that all year round."  Margie's first Crinum was a Milk and Wine-type (C. x herbertii), she has shared this with others; it increases easily and reblooms till frost. 

While living in Thailand a few years ago, Margie looked for Crinum and didn't notice many.  However, she did find a gold-leaved Crinum that is similar to C. xanthophyllum as well as Hippeastrum reticulatum v. striatifolium.  Margie grows many types of bulbs or geophytes in addition to crinums including representatives of the following genera:  Crocosmia, Eucomis, Habranthus, Hippeastrum, Leucojum, Lilium, Lycoris, Narcissus, Rhodophiala, Scilla, Tulbaghia, Watsonia, Zantedeschia, and Zephyranthes.