Please join the Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1685 W 13th Avenue, Eugene, OR, for our guest speaker program presented by Kevin Vaughn. This month’s topic is “Hybridizer on the Loose”.

Kevin Vaughn has been hybridizing plants for 62 years starting in Massachusetts as a kid, then 30 years in Mississippi while working for the USDA, and finally in the promised land of Salem, Oregon! In his program, he will detail his work on irises of all types, Sempervivum, daffodils, daylilies and several other genera. Nothing with pollen is safe in Kevin's yard! Besides seeing great images of his creations, he will give insight into his methods of selecting the varieties that end up on the market.

Kevin Vaughn’s work on irises, hosta, and Sempervivum were part of his early efforts. His curiosity about plant genetics led him to pursue a PhD in plant genetics, where he researched the genetics of variegation in hosta.

After graduate school, Kevin spent 30 years as a research cell biologist for the USDA in Stoneville, Mississippi, where he investigated weeds and herbicides but also hybridized irises, daylilies, daffodils, and Tradescantia.

After retirement in 2010, Kevin moved to Salem, Oregon to pursue hybridizing iris, daffodils and daylilies more aggressively, and restarted his Sempervivum program as well. New avenues in Cyclamens, dianthus, hardy geraniums, Kniphofias, and asters are also being explored. Presently over 200 varieties of plants have been introduced from what is a backyard project, and dozens more are being ramped into production each year. His Louisiana iris hybrids ‘Red Velvet Elvis’ and ‘Lemon Zest’ have won the DeBaillon and Hybridizer’s Medals from the American Iris Society and the Foster Memorial Plaque from the British Iris Society. From the American Hosta Society, he has won the Alex Summers, Nancy Minks and Eunice Fischer Awards for his hybridizing efforts in that genus. Most recently he was awarded the Marcel Le Piniec Award from the North American Rock Garden Society for a lifetime of breeding Sempervivum. His present interests in irises are centered on the dwarf and median bearded irises and the spuria irises.

Besides his hybridizing work, Kevin has authored or co-authored three books on irises and one on Sempervivum: Beardless Irises: A Plant for Every Garden Situation; Dwarf and Median Bearded Irises: Jewels of the Iris World; The Louisiana Iris: The Taming of a Native American Wildflower
(Caillet, Farron-Campbell and Vaughn): and Sempervivum: A Gardener's Perspective of the Not-So-Humble Hens-And-Chicks.

Beyond horticulture, Kevin plays in 5 musical groups in the Salem, Oregon area, playing various members of the oboe and clarinet families.
For more information about the group or this event, visit our website at www.thehardyplantgroup.org/events or email us at info@thehardyplantgroup.org.
This in-person meeting will also be broadcast live over Zoom to members who are unable to attend in person. The Zoom broadcast will also be recorded, and a viewing link will be sent to members to access within two weeks of receiving it. If you are interested in watching our Zoom broadcast and are not a member, please see the “About” page on our website at www.thehardyplantgroup.org/about to download our membership form to join.

Doors on the east side of the building open at 6:30 PM for refreshments, browsing botanical samples, and socializing. Admission is free for members and $5 for non-members. Membership in the Hardy Plant Group is open to all and is only $30 annually. There is ample parking in the parking lot, accessible from both Chambers Street and W 13th Avenue, with additional parking in the adjacent Looking Glass Center parking lot to the north, but please do not park under their covered entryway. Overflow parking is also available in the first 20 spaces on the east and south side of Redeemer Fellowship Church, just across Chambers Street to the west. View parking map at www.thehardyplantgroup.org/contact

The Willamette Valley Hardy Plant Group is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) volunteer organization for gardeners of all experience levels. The Group is dedicated to educating the community about perennials, shrubs, and other plants for use in the garden, sharing each other’s gardens, and fostering a love of gardening. For more information, visit www.thehardyplantgroup.org.