So, Who Are We, Anyway?

Bill Giesellmann

Bill Giesellmann is a real champion of red lobelia. His passion for red lobelia was inspired by two things: his interest in plant genetics, and the brilliant, compelling color of the flower. He got started by reading the works on plant genetics of Luther Burbank (of Idaho potato fame), Mitsurin and Mendel. While canoeing with his family on the Wisconsin River below Portage, he first saw red lobelia on the embankment and "your eye just glues itself to it."

Through his work propagating red lobelia, Bill discovered that they are pollinated by hummingbirds when their heads brushed against the pollen. Bill used a small brush to imitate this process and ended up with a healthy crop of lobelia and an abundance of seeds. He was desperately looking for a spot in which to plant these seeds when he heard Dane County Naturalist Wayne Pauly speak at a Master Gardener dinner. He approached Wayne and "gave him hell" about the preponderance of blue lobelia and the dearth of red lobelia in our parks. Wayne, of course, turned the table and suggested he remedy that situation by planting red lobelia in Token Creek Park himself. Bill was only too happy to do just that.

The next task was to increase pollination. Hand pollination was tedious, though the results were good, and Bill thought hummingbirds should do the job themselves. As a result, he now focuses his attention on plants that attract hummingbirds. His wife Helga helps most particularly with the columbine. Originally planted in the oak woods, the flowers are now planted elsewhere to avoid being eaten by deer. If you look carefully you might find red lobelia in a ditch at the entrance to the group campground, hidden in grass and in other slightly wet areas. Bill's pretty sure he's "licking the wildlife problem" by planting red lobelia where the animals are less likely to find it. With friends like Bill and Helga Giesellmann, red lobelia should become a familiar sight at Token Creek Park.