Burbank’s Will & Plant Legacy
A writer is working on a book about Stark Bro’s Nurseries for its 200th anniversary. She seemed to be of the impression that Burbank “willed” his plant creations to Stark. In fact, Burbank’s will left everything to his wife and named her executrix. There was no mention of property or plants at all. We have no documentation that indicates that Burbank chose Stark to carry on his legacy. Some published material has quoted Mrs. Burbank as stating that her husband designated no successor. Initially, U.C. Berkeley and Stanford were interested in acquiring the Burbank property (Sebastopol at a minimum) to...