Rose Breeder and Discoverer  

Listing last updated on Wed Aug 2024

Peter Lavings,
54 Hospital Terrace
Nanango, Queensland 4615
Australia

1998 September. The Queensland Rose. Vol 36, No. 3
p6. Carolyn Idec. ....Peter is also an avid breeder of roses and he tells me that out of 400 seedlings only four have made the grade over a 3-year period!

2003. Heritage Roses in Australia. Seventh National Conference, Hay. Proceedings.
p38. Creating a New Garden by Peter Lavings

2004 Heritage Roses in Australia journal Vol 26, No. 4.
P37. Sue and John Zwar. [A brief description of Peter Lavings garden]

2008. The Australian Rose Annual
p49. Richard Walsh. Vale Peter Lavings. Kenneth Charles Lavings,
Kenneth Charles Lavings, better known as Peter, was born on May 30, 1935. He passed away on March 5, 2008. I met Peter on the recommendation of friends when I called in to see his fascinating garden at Nanango in Queensland while on holidays several years ago. Peter was a member of the Queensland Rose Society, Heritage Roses in Australia and The Australian Rose Breeders Association. What first impressed me were his ideas on "no-dig" gardening with roses and I am happy to include two articles by him in this year's annual. He was a man who was always prepared to think outside the square and test ideas before making up his own mind. He was unassuming but always generous, being willing to share his ideas and garden with others. He was well received when he presented his ideas to the Heritage Roses in Australia conference in Hay in 2003 and again in writing for the 2008 Australian Rose Annual. As a younger man he worked as head chef for the powerhouse construction crews, but was always a keen gardener, with a special interest and commitment to roses. He loved his "found roses". Peter has bred a number of roses and as part of its sesquicentennial in 1998, Nanango released one of his cultivars, The Nanango Rose. It was named Kathleen Kellehan (after his mother) and is a very fragrant, red blend shrub rose bred from Lilian Austin x Oklahoma. Another of his more recent seedlings is to be named ASPAQ (Australian Scrabble Players' Association of Queensland), scrabble being another of his long term passions and in which he was very involved, having started several clubs. He reputedly was able to make words using all seven of his tiles regularly and won quite a few competitions. Peter was a long-time member of the Nanango Garden Club, of which he was a life member and most recently, was the secretary for the past three years until his death. He will be remembered as a gentleman and friend to those who had the privilege of knowing him md will be missed among those with whom he associated in his many interests. Richard Walsh