Annie T. Giles

1896 – 1975

Annie T. Giles was a school teacher by profession, educated at University of Texas and Southern Methodist University.

She developed a love for gardening from her mother, growing cannas, chrysanthe-mums, and amaryllis. Although a member of the American Iris Society, her interests gravitated to daylilies.

Annie never registered daylily cultivars, but was an important leader for daylilies, both in AHS Region 6 (Texas and New Mexico) and also at the national level.

She served as Regional Publicity Director (1957-58) and Regional Supervisor/ Regional Vice President (1959-60). She served on the AHS Board of Directors (1960-65). Perhaps uniquely, she was both RVP and a director in 1960.

While on the Board, she chaired Registrations, then Regional Vice Presidents (as First VP), and was Publicity Director following two years (1962-63) as AHS President.

Upon becoming president, it was written that: “Miss Annie’s contribution was in serving in various offices of the AHS … For she lives, breathes, dreams, and publicizes the Hemerocallis from dawn to dark and from January to December.”

She once wrote about herself in the 1960 AHS Yearbook, “And about that busy Regional Vice President - well, she [Giles] got out four Newsletters (January-April-August and December) with a mailing list of approximately 400. She wrote 1000 letters pertaining to hemerocallis, traveled 13,000 miles, and made 24 talks - yes, about hemerocallis.”

She was also an AHS Exhibition and Awards & Honors Judge.

Two of her hobbies were woodcarving and China painting. She painted a China plate award, also named for her, for Best Seedling given at a Region 6 meeting.

She donated a silver trophy, activated in 1964, which carries her name for the AHS Best Small Flower. Medals are now given in lieu of that trophy, which now resides in the AHS Archives.

--Courtesy of the AHS Archives