The Shadowy World of The Don

The nursery world is mourning the loss of legendary plantsman, Don Shadow, 83, of Winchester, Tennessee. Don recently passed away in mid-November, after a long series of health challenges. Don was regarded as one of the most voracious plant collectors in the annals of US Nursery history. A fourth generation nurseryman, Don was born into a Tennessee nursery family, that started its plant journey in 1872 with his great grandfather, Michael, followed by sons Joseph and John, and later, Don’s father Hopkins. Don got his BS in horticulture from the University of Tennessee, and embarked on what would become a legendary career, eventually running his own 2,000 acre nursery.

Don spoke with the twang of a sick guitar, but anyone who assumed Don ignorant, after hearing his southern accent, was soon retracting any such thoughts, as Don’s knowledge on a wide array of subjects from plants to animals was encyclopedic. Without a pause, Don could easily talk rings around the most educated University professor. Don was incredibly well connected, and developed relationships with plant breeders and botanical gardens worldwide. It was not unusual for Don to travel to Japan to bring back new plants, and later host the same group of nurserymen from Japan in Tennessee. Don was such a force of nature, whose inconcieveable accomplishments were such that even Martha Stewart was among the many dignitaries that showed up at the nursery for a visit.

Don had an incredible eye for exceptional plant traits that would pop up either in his nursery or in the wild. His list of introductions are many, including Liquidambar ‘Slender Sillhouette’, Magnolia virginiana ‘Green Shadow’, Taxodium distichum ‘Falling Waters’ and ‘Emerald Shadow’, Picea orientalis ‘Shadow’s Broom’, Hibiscus syriacus ‘Smoothie’, ‘Raspberry Smoothie’, and ‘Blueberry Smoothie’, Prunus persica ‘Peppermint Twist’, Chionanthus retusus ‘China Snow’, Cornus florida ‘Little Princess’ and ‘Dixie Colonade’, Cornus kousa ‘Blue Shadow’, Cornus x rutgerensis ‘Celestial Shadow’ and ‘Michael Steinhardt’, and the gold foliaged Acer buergerianum ‘Michael Steinhardt’. The single plant genus that Don is most associated with is dogwoods, Cornus. In 2005, Yew Dell Garden director, Paul Capiello, with Don’s assistance, authored the comprehensive book, Dogwoods.

Don was not only a collector of rare plants, but also a collector of rare animals. If you invited Don to speak on plants, you’d also get to endure an extra hour plus, hearing about his rare animals. God forbid you followed Don on a program, as I don’t recall ever hearing him finish within 1 hour of his designated time slot.

Don’s animal collection was probably more outstanding than his collection of plants. At its peak, Don’s personal zoo included over 800 animals, consisting of over 60 species, including emus, camels, ostriches, zebras, sugar glider possums, Brazillian tapirs, Tibetan kiang donkeys, South American guanacos, red pandas, Mr. Ed, the water buffalo , and so much more. When Don wasn’t up all night with a sick or delivering animal, he rose at the crack of dawn to check on his zoo. To call Don a renaissance man is the ultimate understatement.

I was fortunate to visit Don’s nursery twice, and each was quite the experience, bouncing around in Don’s high speed pickup as he ping-ponged around the nursery checking on various plants, crew members, and animals. Many of the plants I’d hoped to see never appeared during my visit. It quickly became obvious that Don’s plant lust was often more about acquisition, than actually growing and keeping the plants. As soon as Don attained a plant on his quest list, he was after the next one. I was fascinated by the array of abandoned greenhouses, where many of his prized collections had never even been up-potted, growing to 10′ tall in a 2″ pot, before finally succumbing to the lack of attention. Don struggled with delegation, so while he employed laborers, Don essentially ran the nursery as a one man decision-making show.

Don did agree to drive me to see his famous discovery, a nearby gold leaf American beech, Fagus grandiflora. Unfortunately, propagation had not been successful, and now there were too many pot plant growers (not to be confused with potted plant growers) in the vicinity, to risk more grafts.

Don was a stalwart in industry associations like the International Plant Propagators Society (Eastern Region), and the now defunct Southern Nursery Association, serving as President of both. Don was recognized with the Garden Club of America’s Medal of Honor (1989), the American Horticultural Society Commercial Award (1993), and the American Federation of Garden Clubs’ Silver Seal Award (1994). After winning the inaugural Southern Nursery Association Award of Excellence in 2009, the society renamed the award in Don’s honor.

While Don’s voracious appetite for collecting was what made him special, it also lead to his demise. In the early 2000s, Don was introduced to NY billionaire hedge fund manager, Michael Steinhardt, who like Don, had a passion for both rare plants and rare animals. The two quickly became inseparable friends. Many of us who know Don always wondered how he not only stayed in business, but how he managed to keep acquiring and feeding his rare animals. We would later discover that in 2006, Steinhardt cosigned a $6 million dollar loan with his bank, JP Morgan, for Don to keep his business/hobby afloat. When JP Morgan called the loan in 2016, Don was both unwilling and unable to repay the loan. Although they had reached a deal that would have allowed Don to get out from under the debt, Don reneged. That, unfortunately, didn’t work well with Steinhardt. After an outmatched legal fight, Steinhardt took possession of Don’s nursery, home, and animals. This, combined with an ailing wife and his own health issues, left Don a “shadow” of his former self.

For years, we thought in silence, that we were the only nursery to be financially stiffed by Don. It turned out that because Don was so respected, no one dared to mention that they also were victims of him struggling to pay his bills. Only after the Steinhardt fiasco, would we discover that many nurseries had long ago put Don on a cash only account, due to his difficulty managing his finances. Despite this, most nursery owners to which he owed money still remained friends, all fascinated by his brilliance, computer-like memory, and passion for the world of horticulture. It was certainly a tragically sad ending for someone who meant so much to the world of horticulture.

Don was proceeded in death by his wife Mary, in 2022, but is survived by his daughter Jennifer, and brother Fred, also a nurseryman.