The JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University’s 40th Anniversary Symposium will take a look forward to what the next 40 years have in store for the gardening world. From landscapes that are in harmony with the natural world and cultivating edibles native to our own woodlands to breeding and collecting plants suited to 21st century landscapes, we’ll hear from some of the brightest lights of the next generation of horticultural heavyweights including Matthew Pottage the youngest ever curator for the Royal Horticulture Society’s crown jewel garden— Wisley, one of the premiere display gardens not only in England but anywhere in the world.
Other speakers include cutting edge plant breeder, Hans Hansen; ecological designer, Rebecca McMackin; taxonomist/explorer, Aaron Floden; landscape designer, Claudia West; assistant professor, Jared Barnes, Ph.D.; and North Carolina’s own maple nuts, Matt and Tim Nichols.
One presentation is entitled Propagating Horticulturists: A Cultural Guide for Cultivating the Future of Horticulture.
Propagation is a cornerstone of horticulture. We are incredible propagators of plants, but a challenge we face is how do we propagate horticulturists? In this timely and lively talk, Jared Barnes, current horticulture professor at Stephen F. Austin State University, will discuss the similarities in how we sow seeds and how we expose youth to horticulture, in how we take cuttings and how we help amateur gardeners continue to take root, and in how we graft two different species together and how we bridge a connection between plants and other hobbies and interests. This NC State alumnus will also show in this talk that by using this language and mind-frame along with our understanding of the art, science, and craft of propagation, we can connect with more people and develop a cultural guide for propagating horticulturists.
Exploration, Discovery, and Bridging Botany and Horticulture is the topic of Aaron Floden, Ph.D. Explorations in eastern North America and the less-explored parts of Asia reveal novelties in the scientific realm from both regions with a strong focus on plants with horticultural interest. A strong focus will be Polygonatum and related genera, some North American natives, and numerous genera from Asia where we’ll visit the least explored part of the Himalaya in Arunachal Pradesh, India, the Dabashan in central China, and the north of Vietnam on the border with China.
International Maples of Mystery is next. Japanese maples selections are made all over the world. Matt and Tim Nichols will discuss unique Japanese maple selections made from all over the world with a focus on their most recent plant excursion to Japan which included wild collecting maples, visits of Tsukasa Maple, Kobayashi Nursery, Kobayashi Momiji En, World Maple Park, and much more.
Wisley — The New Chapter for the Flagship Garden of the Royal Horticultural Society is presented by Matthew Pottage. Wisley has been gardened for over 100 years and boasts the largest collection of cultivated plants in the United Kingdom. Attracting over one million visitors per year, Wisley is at the dawn of a new chapter with over £60 million pounds worth of investment planned over the next ten years, coupled with the appointment of Matthew Pottage, the youngest curator in the Society’s history.
Planting in a Post-wild World will explore how we live in a global city and few wild places remain in today’s world. Planting designers have the opportunity and responsibility to bring wildness and ecological value back into our landscape. This challenge requires a new form of planting design that works with natural principles and marries horticulture with ecology. Join Claudia West as we explore how native plants will fit into our future landscape and how plant community based design strategies can help you meet aesthetic and ecological goals during your next planting project.
Hans Hansen will speak on New Plant Development at Walters Gardens. Hans Hansen is the director of new plant development and plant breeding at Walters Gardens in Zeeland, Michigan (pictured below) – a position he ‘s had for seven years. Before Walters Gardens, Hans was the director of research and development at Shady Oaks Nursery in Waseca, Minnesota, for over 15 years. Hans ‘s current breeding projects include refining U.S. natives for more ornamental and useful urban garden use. His most extensive projects include Baptisia, Monarda, Phlox, ×Mangaves, Heuchera, and Hibiscus breeding programs.
Also on the program will be Rebecca McMackin, Director of Horticulture for Brooklyn Bridge Park, along with an auction and book sale. Call Chris Glenn at 919-513-7005 to register, and visit www.jcra.ncsu.edu. Program registration is $180, which does not include transportation or hotel. The event will be held in the Ruby C. McSwain Educatin Center, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost horticulturists, Armitage is a professor at the University of Georgia, Athens, where he teaches, conducts research on new garden plants, and runs the University of Georgia Horticulture Gardens. He is generally credited with creating the concept of the independent trial garden, the first one of which opened in Athens in 1982. He is the author of ten books, including Armitage’s Native Plants for North American Gardens and Armitage’s Garden Annuals. He has been cited as one of the ten most influential people or organizations in the floriculture industry.
Armitage is not the only distinguished honoree. The Jackson Dawson Award will go to Pierre Bennerup, president of Sunny Border Nurseries, one of the leading producers of perennial plants for the northeast. Sunny Border, headquartered in Kensington, Connecticut, is known around the world for being on the cutting edge of new plant development. Pierre, the second generation Bennerup in the industry, is an integral part of the global horticulture community and has been instrumental in searching out new plants suitable for North American gardens.
Also to be honored is Holly Shimizu, Executive Director of the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. Ms. Shimizu, who will receive the Thomas Roland Medal, has been responsible for the overall operation of the USBG for the past nine years and, under her leadership, the widely acclaimed new National Garden opened 2006. Ms. Shimizu is well known through her work as one of the hosts of The Victory Garden and as a frequent commentator on horticultural topics for National Public Radio.