Our Take: Sandra Anderson leaves a living legacy

We were so saddened by the passing of half of the area’s “flower-power couple.” 

Sandra L. Anderson died Wednesday, May 26, at her Whitewater home. She was 79 years old.

A Jefferson Junction native, Sandra Raithel graduated from Fort Atkinson High School and later earned her licensed practical nursing degree at MATC. In 1962, she married Roger Anderson Sr. while he was serving in the U.S. Navy.

Her obituary shares that Sandy enjoyed reading and gardening, with a specialty of growing Iris. It adds that, according to Roger, she was a much better gardener then he … which really says a lot since he is considered to be the world’s leading expert on intersectional peonies.

Roger is a Fort Atkinson native and a self-taught peony breeder who began hybridizing peonies in the early 1970s. He and Sandra were true partners, marketing his 50 named varieties from their nursery, Callies Beaux Jardins, from 1978 to 2004. 

For those without a green thumb, intersectional peonies are a cross between the traditional herbaceous peonies and tree peonies. Roger took the best characteristics from each and produced peonies that do not droop. They have strong woody stems, upright unique big flowers, are disease resistant, die back in autumn like herbaceous peonies, and feature the handsome foliage of tree peonies. 

In fact, he has created more than 500 different intersectional peonies — the most colors and varieties of any hybridizer in the world — and the first-ever orange peony. His “Bartzella” intersectional is acclaimed by experts as the “most perfect yellow peony” around the globe.

Back here at home, this “flower-power couple” also were the force behind the Roger F. and Sandra L. Anderson Peony Garden at the Hoard Historical Museum in Fort Atkinson. 

It was a decade ago that Roger and Sandy provided 18 varieties of intersectionals for the two 35-by-55-foot beds in the museum’s backyard, including seven Bartzellas. Seventeen other intersectional varieties of red, pink, mauve and white blooms also fill the garden. Later, they added two of his newest seedlings to the garden, named for William Dempster Hoard and his grandson’s wife, Mary Cunningham Hoard.

And as if 58 named intersectional peonies were not enough, the Andersons contributed more than 50 hybrid lilies, Sandra’s favorite, as well as dozens of day lilies. 

Thanks to the Andersons, the Hoard Historical Museum is home to the largest collection of intersectional peonies in North America, including those at botanical gardens. And that is why Fort Atkinson consistently, since 2012, has been recognized as the “Intersectional Peony City of Wisconsin.” 

The peonies are in bloom right now, coinciding with a special event that enables the public to obtain these amazing plants, as well. Thanks to the Andersons’ floral gifts, the museum is selling their special peonies as a fundraiser to support the facility, and particularly for its beautiful gardens. Contact the museum for information or to obtain an order form. 

It seems appropriate that, as the Fort Atkinson area mourns Sandra Anderson’s passing, the gardens of flowers that she so loved — and shared with the community at large — are ablaze in pinks, whites, mauves, purples, yellows and reds.

As they continue to delight visitors to the museum and, soon, many home gardens, may these peonies be a living legacy honoring her generosity and love of Mother Nature’s beauty.