Lilium Species Foundation

Living Campus Vision: Research Preserve and Public Botanical Lily Garden

INTRODUCTION

The Vision

The Lilium Species Foundation (LSF) envisions the establishment of a permanent, integrated Living Campus composed of complementary facilities: a Botanical Research and Experimental Garden and a Public Botanical Lily Garden. Together, these landscapes will form the physical and intellectual heart of the Foundation’s mission to conserve, study, and interpret the genus Lilium across scientific, ecological, and cultural dimensions.
LSF further envisions a network of collaborative partnerships with botanical gardens, research institutions, and educational organizations in the United States and abroad to establish and maintain Lilium species collections and interpretive displays. Through this international collaboration, LSF members and partner institutions will work to develop regionally appropriate species gardens in alignment with LSF standards, conservation guidelines, and educational objectives, thereby creating a globally connected system of living collections dedicated to the preservation and understanding of the world’s lilies.

PART I: BOTANICAL RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN

The LSF Botanical Research & Experimental Garden will function as a conservation-grade living laboratory and genetic refuge for wild Lilium species. It will not be a conventional display garden, but a secure, scientifically managed research preserve operating on multi-decadal and intergenerational timescales. Modeled in part on institutions such as the Berry Botanic Garden, Oregon Bulb Farms, and historic research facilities including the Wind River Experimental Forest and Research Center in Skamania County, Washington, the garden will integrate long-term ex situ conservation with controlled field experimentation.

Beyond the cultivation and safeguarding of species, the garden will serve as an active research platform for studies in taxonomy, population genetics, ecology, propagation, and climate adaptation, supporting both in-house and collaborative scientific work.

The Botanical Research and Experimental Garden is conceived as a conservation-grade living laboratory and genetic refuge for wild Lilium species. It will not function as a conventional display garden, but rather as a secure, scientifically managed research preserve operating on multi-decadal and intergenerational timescales. Its purpose will be to serve as a living repository for lilium species, especially rare and threatened species, a controlled experimental environment for ecological and physiological research, a seed banking and propagation center for restoration and reintroduction.

Complementing this research preserve, the Public Botanical Lily Garden, will hopefuly in the future, be developed as an educational and interpretive landscape to introduce the public to the amazing world of the genus Lilium and associated plants. we hope to showcasethe diversity, ecology, and cultural history of the world’s true lilies. Rather than ornamental hybrid displays, the garden will emphasize immersive, naturalistic representations of species and habitats. Its educational role will include species identification and ecological interpretation, school and university field programs, cultural and historical context, ethical cultivation and conservation awareness, and opportunities for citizen science and phenology monitoring.

Habitat zones in the Public Garden will represent Pacific Northwest forest and meadow lilies, California montane and serpentine species, eastern North American wetlands and woodlands, East Asian mountain systems, Mediterranean and Caucasus regions, and alpine and subalpine environments, allowing visitors to experience the global diversity of the genus within an integrated landscape.

Together, the Research Preserve and the Public Garden will safeguard genetic diversity, support restoration and reintroduction efforts, train future conservation professionals, inspire public stewardship, and provide institutional continuity for long-term Lilium preservation.

Development of the Living Campus is envisioned in phases, beginning with site selection, ecological assessment, and land protection, followed by infrastructure development including soil zoning, water systems, and quarantine facilities. Subsequent phases will introduce core species, seed banks, and display landscapes, establish research plots, restoration nurseries, and education facilities, and ultimately expand long-term monitoring, public programs, and institutional capacity.

The Lilium Species Foundation welcomes collaboration with universities and research institutions, botanical gardens and arboreta, Tribal governments and cultural stewards, conservation agencies and non-profit organizations, and philanthropic and land-donor partners who share a commitment to the long-term conservation and understanding of the world’s lilies.

For further information or partnership inquiries, please contact the Lilium Species Foundation (LSF), Washington State, USA.