I was vacationing with friends along the gulf coast of Florida for the Memorial Day 2002, when my friend David Robinson, who owns Atlanta Water Gardens, arrived and shared a rare horticultural sighting he has seen on his way down. Somewhere as he said, "In the middle of nowhere," he came across a field of pitcher plants. He produced digital proof for the skeptical gathering. I planned a definite stop on my return trip. I was not prepared for what I found or how it would affect my life.

After swerving off the road gapped mouth and leaping from the still running car. I found myself standing in a murky water filled ditch gazing upon on of the most amazing horticultural site I have ever seen, an acer of Sarracenia stretched before me. There also sat a house on the hill. I had to see this up close as I found myself separated from nirvana by a barbed wire fence. The woman at the door was not at all surprised at my request to 'see her yard.' She told me many people often stopped to gawk but this year only a few had stopped even though this was the first time in three years she and her husband had been able to burn off the field. She said you could not see them because the grass had grown so tall and they were the prettiest they had been in years. She also told me her father had owned the land and kept cattle on it. She said the pitcher plants were there then. My guess is that this field of Sarracenias had been growing here long before her family bought the land and for more than 80 years she and her father had unknowing done exactly what these rare and endangered plants required; FIRE!

Anne Choi, a friend of mine and I practically ran into the field and stopped in amazement at the edge of 'the sea.' It was hard to describe. The plants were so thick in places that we could hardly walk without stepping on them. We moved from one clump of plants to the next looking at all the varitations but, what had really caught our eye was a particurally spectacular cump out in the middle that we had seen from the road. It stood head and shoulders above the rest. (at least 36" or taller) The lids had a peachy golden cast to them edged in maroon with a deep velvety maroon throat. The lip was edged in maroon as well. When we got closer we could see the pitchers were half again as large as the surrounding plants and twice as big in circumference. The pitchers had a lemony cast to them with translucent windows in the sides. We knew we were looking at a very special plant, a hybrid for sure. This naturally occurring hybrid I now know as S. mooreii. (S. flava x leucophylla) The clump was enormous, probably over 8' across.This clump is probably 50 years old. We have give this plant the working name of S. 'Leah Wilkerson' after the woman who owns the property. Close by was another specatuclar clump of red ones, again another hybrid and yet another different one we called 'Mahogany' that is actually a flava red tube form. We had friends waiting in the car so we did not feel like we could stay longer. On the drive home, all we talked about were sarracenia. We definatelly will plan a return visit.

I had no idea the effect of seeing that field of sarracenias would have on me. I have become a man possessed. I returned to Atlanta and immediatly got on the internet to see what I could find on my new fasination. The world of carnivirous plants unfolded before me. I was like a fly to a newly open sarracenia pitcher, haplessly drawn in never to escape. The books started to arrive from Amazon.com. I began to purchase plants from local nurseries. Unbeknown to me, my friend David Robinson's establishment, Atlanta Water Gardens carried S. leucophylla 'Tarnok' and 'Judith Hindle.' My first attempts were rather pathetic because I had not done proper research. I placed my new plants in a terra cotta pot with the drain hole stopped up and put them in a mixture of sand swepted from the curb side (with God knows what in it..OIL, GASOLINE?!) and my finest, richest compost. Thank goodness these plants are tough and forgiving. I also did not give them nearly enough sun light and during the drought this summer they dried out. As I said, I became a voracious consumer of CP knowledge as it pertained to sarracenia. Upon discovering my mistake, I set about obtaining a better more suitable habitat. Enter first bog! (see pic) I moved the plants to my office in the parking lot where they get eight or more hours of sun and I catch the rain water off the warehouse roof. I then discovered sarracenia on the internet. Boy was I in trouble now! I began placing orders and spending hours perusing the sites. The boxes began to arrive. Friends, taking me seriously began gifting them to me as well. My first bog filled quickly and knowing that this was not going to abate, I built a bigger bog, enter bog two! (see pic) That bog quickly filled with purchases off the internet and local nurseries.