Henry Nehrling Papers

Henry Nehrling, an ornithologist and horticulturist, was born on 9 May 1853 in Herman, Wisconsin, to Carl Nehrling and Elizabeth Ruge. His walks to and from a Lutheran parochial school several miles from his home gave him an opportunity to develop a passionate interest in birds and plants. He completed a teacher education program at the Lutheran Teacher's Seminary in Addison, Illinois and taught in Illinois, Missouri and Texas. Nehrling married Sophia Schoff of Oak Park, Illinois on July 20, 1874 and they had nine children. Their eldest son, Walter, became a professor of Botany at Illinois State Normal School. Henry Nehrling was an original member of the American Ornithologist's Union formed in 1883.

While living in Houston, Texas from 1879, Nehrling first had the opportunity of growing tropical plants. In 1887, he was appointed deputy collector and inspector of customs at the port of Milwaukee where he remained for three years until he accepted the post of Custodian of the Public Museum in Milwaukee where he collected plant specimens for their greenhouse. He purchased land in Gotha, Florida in 1884, but did not visit the property until 1886. Slowly, as his finances allowed, he developed the property into an ornamental garden. At the Columbian Exposition of 1893, Nehrling had the opportunity of examining many tropical plants and trees and became fascinated with the fancy-leafed caladium. Through a South American horticulturist, Adolph Lietz, Nehrling acquired hundreds of Brazilian caladium specimens. These were first housed in his greenhouse in Milwaukee but were later moved to Gotha. Nehrling created new hybrid caladiums which he named in honor of his wife, the "Mrs. Sophie Nehrling," his son the "Arno Nehrling" and his daughter-in-law "Mrs. Arno Nehrling."

Nehrling lost his position with the Public Museum of Milwaukee and permanently settled in Gotha in 1904. where he also began to experiment with the colorful annual flowering Amaryllis. He grew, hybridized, and popularized many unusual and exotic plants for the general public. Caladiums, palms, bamboo, and amaryllis were all introduced to the United States by way of his Palm Cottage Gardens. Nehrling collaborated with the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, which was part of what was then called the Bureau of Plant Industry. Through this connection, Nehrling was able to expand his international contacts and gather information, plants and seeds from tropical horticulturists around the world. Nehrling's garden became so well known that people like John Burroughs, Thomas Edison, and Theodore Roosevelt came to visit and learn gardening tips. Nehrling's wife, Sophia, died on November 11, 1911, and on June 7, 1916 he married Betty P. Mitchell. A freeze in 1917 killed many of his most valuable plants; to avoid a recurrence, he purchased property in Naples, Florida where he could safely grow tropical species. He settled there in 1922 and by 1925, Nehrling had over three thousand species of tropical plants. Financial problems forced him to return to Gotha where he died on November 22, 1929 and was buried in Woodlawn cemetery near Gotha. His garden in Naples was preserved as the Jungle Larry's Caribbean Gardens and some efforts have been made to preserve his Palm Cottage Gardens in Gotha.

Nehrling always wrote about his interests; he wrote articles on birds for the Nuttall Ornithological Club in Texas. In 1922, he began writing columns for The American Eagle, a weekly newspaper published in Estero, Florida. His first book Orchids in South Florida was published in 1890 and was followed a year later by Die Nordamerikanische Vogelwelt (North American Bird Life). Two volumes of Our Native Birds of Song and Beauty were published in 1893 and 1896 respectively. His next work, Die Amaryllis oder Rittersterne (Hippeastrum) (The Amaryllis), was published in 1908.