Lenawee County MI Archives Obituaries.....Blake, Betty Hammel August 23, 200?
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Tecumseh Herald
Purse Funeral Home

Tecumseh, Lenawee County, Michigan

 

Betty Hammel Blake 


An internationally-known alpine gardener, died at the age of 87 on Monday 
August 23 at her home near Onsted, Michigan. She is survived by her children 
Martha Blake Jacobson of California, David Blake of Virginia, Judith Stempien 
of Livonia, and five grandchildren. 

Betty Blake was born Betty Hammel in Topeka, Kansas, where she earned a B.A. 
degree in botany from Washburn University. She married David Blake in 1939 and 
settled with him in Detroit. Betty began gardening in the early 1940's, 
growing irises and prize-winning roses in her small back yard. In 1960 her 
interests turned to alpine gardens, and she began her long love affair with 
tiny alpine plants. In 1975 she moved to Onsted, where she and her husband 
built a three-acre rock garden. Betty and her garden have been the focus of 
numerous newspaper articles and books, including Earth on Her Hands, a coffee-
table book on prominent women gardeners. She also wrote several articles and 
book chapters about growing alpine plants in the Midwest.

Betty was a member of numerous gardening societies including the Detroit Rose 
Society, the Scottish Rock Garden Society, the Alpine Garden Society, and the 
Bonsai Society and was a charter member of the Great Lakes Chapter of the 
North American Rock Garden Society. She was a volunteer at Hidden Lakes Garden 
in Tipton and the Mathaei Botanical Gardens.

Her willingness to share advice and seeds from rare horticultural plants 
earned her the admiration and respect of fellow gardeners. Two horticultural 
plant varieties have been named after her: Anemonella thalictroides 'Betty 
Blake' and Phlox bifida 'Betty Blake'. 

A memorial gathering will be held at Purse Funeral Home, 210 W. Pottawatamie, 
Tecumseh, Michigan, from 3 to 6 pm Saturday, August 28, 2004

Betty Blake looked beyond her garden and contributed funds to save wild lands 
for the enjoyment of future generations. In lieu of flowers, contributions may 
be made in memory of: Betty H. Blake, Memorial # 10629288, Nature Conservancy, 
4545 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203.
























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