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Richmond Harrison, Nursery Man

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Description: Richmond E. Harrison was a nurseryman and well known author of books on trees. He was born in Palmerston North in 1902, and his secondary school education was obtained at Palmerston North High School. He opened Harrison's Nurseries (later known as R. E. Harrison & Co. Ltd.) in Palmerston North in 1920, which went on to employ 80 people. Alongside this enterprise, the Harrison family owned a store in Coleman Place that sold plants, seeds and wreaths. As a prolific importer of bulbs and perennials, R.E. Harrison changed the face of gardening in New Zealand. His plant catalogues were revolutionary in the days of black and white photography. Recognising the importance of colour when selling new varieties of plants, he employed a painter (Annie Anderson) to create pictures which were then reproduced in his catalogues. He was married and had four sons and one daughter - Cathren Ishbell. In the 1970s, R.E. Harrison's son Vern set up a deciduous tree nursery in Pinfold Road, Aokautere. Another son specialised in evergreen trees and bulbs and perennials. Harrison died 16 August 1991. See Manawatu Evening Standard 13 February 2007, p 9.