Lilla Irvin Leach

Lilla Irvine Leach (March 13, 1886 – September 10, 1980) was a botanist who spent most of her career studying plants in the Pacific Northwest and West Coast of the United States. She particularly focused on Oregon, where she spent time researching with her husband and discovering new plant species. She opened her own botanical gardens in 1931.

Early life Lilla Leach was born in Oregon on her family's farm in Barlow, Clackamas County on March 13, 1886. Lilla's family settled down in Oregon after immigrating through the Oregon Trail.

Later life and death Lilla and John bought property in Southeast Portland on the Johnson Creek, where they built a small stone cabin, which they called Sleepy Hollow. During the Second World War, the Leachs' research and collecting began to slow as they moved into a retired lifestyle. Lilla and John lived in their home at Johnson Creek until their deaths, John in 1972 and Lilla on September 10, 1980. After Lilla's death, the city of Portland gained ownership of the property and turned it into a public garden, the Leach Botanical Garden, in memory of the two.