Death of Marcus Harvey in Tasmania

[Parsla]

In the midst of all this, I would like to acknowledge the devastating loss to Marcus's 'silent' partner of over 12 years, Susan Jarick, who so beautifully illustrated his catalogue covers, accompanied him on at least 3 expeditions, kept the diary logs, provided many of the photos for his 'ramblings' and looked after him all through the devastating illness that is melanoma.

Jacqui.

[ashley]

Yes indeed, at this very sad time our thoughts are with Susan and those closest to him. 
For the rest of us who perhaps knew Marcus only at a distance his plants will be a fitting tribute into the future.

[Otto Fauser]

Farewell Marcus and to a 27 year close friendship . At the start of our friendship I was able to share some of my treasured bulbs with him which he then most generously repaid in later years .He imported many new and extremely rare bulbs from England and Latvia and from his seed collecting trips to Turkey and Greece and the islands . So many bulbs and plants in my garden will forever remind me of our friendship

     On our local AGS group site you will an article and a nice photo of Marcus ( sitting at my dining table )
          Alpine Garden Society Victorian Group

[vivienne Condon]

I have had a request from Otto to post the photo from our blog so that you can see what he looked like.
Farewell Marcus I will miss our conversations
Viv

[Anthony Darby]

I only corresponded with Marcus briefly, but found him generous with his time, advice and seeds. I have several pots with his name attached which will be cherished. He has clearly touched many many people, who will have many memories of a life well lived.

[Maggi Young]

Jacqui, well said - Susan  is a big player in this scene. Bless her!

Thank you for posting that lovely photo, Viv. 

We can read more  of Marcus - and more besides, on the Victoria AGS blog page : http://agsvicgroup.blogspot.co.uk/


I never met Marcus in person, though we corresponded over a long period and I felt him to be a friend.  I had hoped his cancer might be beaten so I am very sad to find that this big personality was, after all, mortal.

[Maggi Young]

  The following post  was made on the Hillview Rare Plants Facebook page - with a link to this thread.

Hillview Rare Plants
9 hrs
With uncontrollable heartbreak I bring the devastating news that my ever adventurous, curious, passionate and eclectic father Marcus Harvey founder of Hillview Rare Plants passed away late on Thursday night (approx. 10.20pm December 1st, 2016) after a hugely courageous and sustained battle with melanoma.
Marcus ("The Bulb King"), although often very unaware of the fact, touched so many peoples lives due to his dynamic and enthusiastic character.
He will ceaselessly inspire me and I am immensely proud of him. He was truly my best friend, because although I am not a plantsman like him, his true nature was so universal and our bond was continuously strengthened by our many shared interests including a deep love of music, films, sport and the outdoors as well as a shared inquiry into philosophy, religion, politics, society, family, animals and whatever else we decided to discuss, like TV show plots, who's a good comedian, the viability of venison farming in Tasmania or which of the new fad diets is the most legitimate.
Perhaps it was Dad's other mainstay work as a cataloguer/librarian or the plethora of other experiences he had as a fisherman, miner, restauranter, sportsman or writer, just to name a few, that enabled him such ease at engaging almost anyone in a meaningful conversation. God he loved to talk and to know others experiences. He did also reclude into his work with an undying fervour - from time to time, despite his authentic gregariousness, he could appear to me and others as somewhat of a withdrawn and misunderstood outsider in a world of convention. But who am I to judge? I know now more than ever that he lived his life his way, the way he wanted, and nothing could get in his way, not the blasted gusts of wind that whipped at his home and place of work at Huon Road, nor the pesky wallabies that would bound over and damage the polystyrene boxes that housed his beloved plants on one of the many terraces that he and his crew (his mates, my mates, acquaintances and family) carved out from the side of the hill up by the "Keens Curry" rocks in South Hobart, nothing, nothing would ever stop him nurturing those bulbs. He told me that he had found genuine love, insights and joy from his from work in the nursery, he fostered connections with an entire global community of plant lovers and he travelled many times to the Mediterranean for work, who could ever say that he hadn't lived a full life!!
Now, let's not sugar coat things too much, he could sometimes be an impulsive and judgmental character and was sometimes demanding to those close to him, however he did have his reasons. He demanded loyalty because he had a strong vision and he knew that he would give you loyalty in return. This aspect of his character was a flawed surface aspect only, his true nature IS loving, wholesome, zesty, pure and joyous.
It is consolation to me that he is no longer suffering but it hurts me so much that he wasn't able to finalise his work transition into taking guided tours to Greece and into writing much more about his truly incredible adventures.
On a deeply personal level I am experiencing a painful void in knowing that he will not have the opportunity to help nurse a grandchild in the way he did with all his 'little treasures' on the hill. Dad had spoken with me a number of times recently of his loving desire to be present for such a life event and he would have been such a tremendous grandfather. Nonetheless, his energy and presence is eternal and all around me and the many and varied, spaces and places that he stepped foot or influenced.
If you would like to, please address condolences to: Marcus' family 400 Huon Rd, South Hobart, Tasmania, 7004
As Dad would say: "Lots of Love"
xo

[anita]

My heart goes out to Marcus's family.  I hope they know that Marcus had a positive impact across the world.
I never met Marcus although we swapped seeds, corresponded and called, so I feel as though I've lost a dear friend. Marcus was the one who moved me from buying bulbs to sowing seeds, and as my swarm of seedling pots has grown I have cursed Marcus (affectionately) many times for transmitting his passion.
I will remember Marcus when I see 'his' cyclamen blooming, crocus, galanthus and hopefully a white dracunculus in the future. As I wander around my garden there will always be gems that I will associate with Marcus.
There are few people who enrich the lives of others, Marcus did so by generously sharing beauty. Vale Marcus, my life benefitted from yours. Anita   

[arillady]

It was so devastating to read on facebook that Marcus had lost his last battle. I had hoped that the medical world might have found a cure when he said that he was being given a new drug.
His contribution to the plant world will live on in the hearts and gardens of those who knew him.
I am so glad I met Susan and Marcus in person when we met for a meal in Hobart with Tasmanian friends a number of years ago.
Thank you Vivienne for posting this wonderful photo and Maggi for sharing his son's tribute to his Dad.
Vale Marcus. Heartfelt condolences to his family.

[Maggi Young]

Yann has  suggested that we post again here the poem Marcus wrote in response to Jim Archibald .... this originally  appeared as part of the Archibald Archive
 Marcus Harvey on Jim A : 
................ my absolute first choice is the recently departed Scottish plant hunter Jim Archibald.
 For the last 20 years Jim and his wife, Jenny sent out to every corner of the world their seed catalogue. It always came unadorned, on A4, double-sided, plain white paper. No pictures, no drawings, just word descriptions, collection numbers, people and place names. It was The Bible to plant collectors, a compendium of a lifetime of plant hunting journeys and a cornucopia of dream plants. Jim could write the horticultural equivalent of the "20 second grab". But it was his preambles I looked forward to the most. He wrote on many subjects. His observations were pithy and irreverent but never boring, and often insightful. In 2001 in a piece entitled, Seller of Dreams, he wrote, "We are the sellers of dreams. We sell dreams to ourselves and hope to pay for their reality by work and knowledge. We sell dreams to you. What are seeds  but dreams in packets?"
Marcus' poem.......

Harvest

A summer’s harvest
Lies scattered before me

This spill of tiny dreams

Like unopened messages

Ripe with possibilities

Now my bespangled thrall

Grit, grain, seed, burr and thistledown

State of the art packaging

Forged in the elemental

Germed with new beginnings

This is God’s Holy Dust

Each bears its marks of kin

Jostling with inheritance

Some leafed in emerald

Some earthed in cinnabar

Primped in rock and light

Sphere, parachute, wing and arrow

the geometry of survival

Prodigious instruction distilled within

Root tap, stem sap, shoot

The whole miracle set to spring

What great hopes for such small packages

Not windblown nor water-washed

But transplanted by desire

Unwitting emissaries sprouting
Love letters arriving with the sun.

[Maggi Young]

A note of thanks to kind members who have made donations to the SRGC in memory of Marcus  Harvey.  A kind way to remember him.

[fermi de Sousa]

Marcus' birthday was April 7th and his partner Susan posted a new story of his to the Hillview Website
http://hillviewrareplants.com.au/ramblings/mad-dogs-and-primroses
cheers
fermi

[Matt T]

I'm thinking of Marcus as I'm working my way through repotting second year seedlings. There's nothing like the anticipation of tipping out a pot for the first time. Especially when it's full of healthy young corms like these. I always found seed from Marcus to give excellent germination, strong growth, and counting the corms shows an almost 100% success rate. Here is a pot of Crocus robertianus - correction: these are C. hadriaticus - where 69 seeds have given 64 cormlets. One pot had 33 corms from 32 seeds! Some species look close to flowering size already. I wonder in how many gardens and countries across the world there are plants growing that originated from Marcus? Gone but living on in our memories and gardens - a great legacy.

[Yann]

he'll be proud of the nice babies, will check mines next week end.

[arilnut]

Sternbergia candida grown from Marcus' seed in 2010

John