The New England Wild Flower Society welcomes Mark Richardson as its new Director of Horticulture. Mark has an intriguing combination of strategic vision, skills, and experience that impressed everyone who interviewed him. A native of Rhode Island, Mark worked for four years as the assistant manager of a 45-acre nursery while earning his degree in Urban Horticulture at the University of Rhode Island. He then received his Master of Science in Public Horticulture from the Longwood Graduate Program as part of the University of Delaware. New degree in hand, he was asked by Longwood Gardens to run the undergraduate programs, and he spent his five years on staff in roles that encompassed strategic program development, design and development of a new garden area, and even leading the entire Education Department (with its $2.6 million budget) for seven months during the search for a new director. He left Longwood for Brookside Gardens, a botanic garden that is part of the Parks Department of Montgomery County, Maryland, where he served as the manager of adult education programs and frequent horticulture instructor/lecturer/author (and he developed a strategic plan for technology in the garden!). While he has enjoyed his work in education, his passion is plants, and he is excited to be shifting back to horticulture and his roots in New England.
