Boston Flora

Tag: North Carolina State University

  • Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s 119th Honorary Medals Announced

    The Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society (MHS) has announced its 2020-21 Honorary Medals recipients.

    They were celebrated for “their contributions to excellence in horticulture for the public good” at the Honorary Medals Dinner at The Gardens at Elm Bank on November 4.

    Robert A. Bartlett Jr., Chairman and CEO of Bartlett Tree Experts, will be receiving the George Robert White Medal of Honor. The George Robert White Medal of Honor was established in 1909 and is among the most distinguished horticultural awards in the United States. The first honoree was Charles Sprague Sargent, Director of the Arnold Arboretum. Other recipients include Gertrude Jekyll, Jens Jensen, The Royal Horticultural Society, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Tasha Tudor. Joining these distinguished honorees, Bartlett represents the third generation of the F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company, the world’s leading scientific tree and shrub care company. Since its founding in 1907, the company has protected the health, beauty, and value of trees—one of Earth’s most important natural resources.

    Steve Castorani and Mark Sellew, co-owners of American Beauties Native Plants, will be jointly awarded the Thomas Roland Medal for their leadership in developing, selecting, propagating, and marketing numerous superior cultivars and establishing nationally recognized brands. The Thomas Roland Medal is awarded for exceptional skill in horticulture and lectures.

    Thomas G. Ranney, JC Raulston Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University, in recognition of his research programs, will receive the Jackson Dawson Memorial Medal which recognizes exceptional skill in the science or practice of hybridization or propagation of ornamental plants.

    Gold Medals for eminent horticultural accomplishments or for outstanding service to MHS will be awarded to William (Ned) Friedman, Director of Arnold Arboretum; Katherine K. Macdonald, former President and Executive Director, MHS; and John Cronin, Penni Jenkins, and Heidi Kost-Gross, Volunteers, MHS.

    Michael Dosmann, Arnold Arboretum, Keeper of the Living Collections, will receive a Silver Medal for his noteworthy service in horticulture. MHS Volunteers Sarah Cummer, Kathi Gariepy, and Rosalind Hunnewell will also receive silver medals.

  • Thursday, April 12 – Sunday, April 15 – Leading with Landscape IV: North Carolina’s Research Triangle

    In an effort to broaden awareness of the transformation taking place in the public realm across the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Research Triangle, The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) will curate a conference and related events on April 12-15, 2018, that will draw an audience that is local, national, and international in scope. In developing these events, TCLF, in partnership with the City of Raleigh, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Museum of Art, and Sasaki, is working to excite and inspire constituents, helping them to understand that the ambitions of their region are worthy of critical analysis, evaluation, and broadcasting.

    Over the past fifteen years TCLF has organized numerous conferences – all of them sold-out events – that examine urban planning and landscape architecture. Most recently, the foundation’s Leading with Landscape conferences in San Antonio (2017), Houston (2016), and Toronto (2015) have taken multi-disciplinary approaches to understanding the balance that exists between thr stewardship of natural and cultural resources and the evolving identities of urban areas. Conference attendees included landscape architects and allied practitioners, urban planners and related municipal officials, stewardship advocates, educators, elected officials, and other interested parties. All three conferences also secured the participation of their city’s mayors, along with key leaders from the public, non-profit, and academic sectors.

    Schedule of Events:

    Thursday Evening, April 12: Opening Reception, North Carolina Museum of Art
    Friday, April 13: Leading with Landscape Conference, James B. Hunt, Jr., Library, North Carolina State University
    Saturday and Sunday April 14-15: What’s Out There Weekend, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

    Visit https://tclf.org/leading-landscape-iv-north-carolinas-research-triangle for further information regarding the lineup of speakers, the schedule of events, registration information, and more.

  • Tuesday, May 2, 6:00 pm – The Evolution and Migration of the Irish Potato Famine Pathogen: Darwin’s Painfully Interesting Subject

    Jean Beagle Ristaino, William Neal Reynolds Professor of Plant Pathology and Director of Emerging Plant Disease and Global Food Security, North Carolina State University, will speak on Tuesday, May 2, at the Harvard University Science Center, 1 Oxford Street in Cambridge, in a Harvard Museum of Natural History program entitled The Evolution and Migration of the Irish Potato Famine Pathogen. The culprit behind the nineteenth-century Irish potato famine was Phytophthora infestans, a fungus-like microorganism that causes the disease known as “potato late blight.” New genetic tools have enabled scientists to piece together the evolution of this pathogen and the history of its outbreaks in Ireland. Jean Ristaino will discuss the latest research on P. infestans and describe Charles Darwin’s early role in the search for durable resistance to this serious plant disease. Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage. Free and open to the public.

  • Thursday, July 20 – Saturday, August 12, 9:00 am – 8:00 pm (weekdays) – Plant Anatomy: Development, Function, and Evolution

    This two-week summer short course, July 20 – August 12, will be taught by experts from around the world as an intense lecture, laboratory, and living collections learning experience. The course will be based at the Weld Hill Research Building at the Arnold Arboretum, which offers a state-of-the-art microscopy laboratory for teaching and sits amid the 15,000+ living specimens of more than 2,200 species at the Arnold Arboretum.

    With the opportunity to bring molecular genetic and genomic tools to almost any clade of plants, it is essential to understand the biology of the organisms in question. A key challenge will be to link comparative developmental genetics to existing bodies of knowledge; notably the over two hundred year legacy of plant anatomy. This integration is critical as the phylogenetic, structural, and ecological breadth of plant taxa open to study expands, and potential questions become increasingly sophisticated. This course will provide a working knowledge of tools and concepts that are central to understanding the anatomical basis for structural and functional diversity.

    Instructors:

    Pieter Baas (Naturalis Biodiversity Center)
    Pamela Diggle (University of Connecticut)
    William (Ned) Friedman (Harvard University)
    Peter Gasson (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
    Cynthia Jones (University of Connecticut)
    Elisabeth Wheeler (North Carolina State University)

    Deadline for applications: April 15. For complete information and syllabus visit https://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/education/aa-summer-course/

  • Wednesday, November 9 – Thursday, November 10 – Northeast Greenhouse Conference and Expo

    The biennial Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo is co-sponsored by New England Floriculture, Inc. – a group of grower representatives from the Northeast, augmented by University and Cooperative Extension staff in each state, who specialize in greenhouse crops and management. Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn, share and connect with other industry professionals. The conference takes place at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough on November 9 and 10. There will be educational sessions, and don’t miss DAZED AND INFUSED. Join Sue Adams, Adams Farm and Greenhouses, for an educational cocktail hour on Tuesday evening featuring specialty cocktails using herbs and other plants. Advance registration is required. No charge to attend, and cash bar will be available.

    Sign up to have breakfast Thursday morning with a presenter who is an expert in your area of interest. Presenters and their topics will include: Sinclair Adam, Penn State University (Perennials); Mandy Bayer, University of Massachusetts (Irrigation, plant height control); Raymond Cloyd, Kansas State University (Insect pests and controls); Stephanie Cohen, Perennial Diva (Perennials); Chris Currey, Iowa State University (Greenhouse herbs, greenhouse environment); Kathy Kelly, Penn State University (Social Media); Tom Manning, Rutgers University (Greenhouse design, energy efficiency); Jeffrey Marstaller, Cozy Acres Greenhouses (Zero emissions, Advanced biocontols); Anna Meyerhoff, Bassett Healthcare Network (Worker protection); Kelly Norris, Des Moines Botanical Gardens (Iris, perennials, marketing); Suzanne Wainwright-Evans, Buglady Consulting (Biocontrols of pests); Brian Whipker, North Carolina State University (Plant Diagnostics, PGRs). Advance registration is required. Tickets are $25. For complete information and registration visit http://www.negreenhouse.org/html/show_info.shtml

  • Thursday, October 27 – Sunday, October 30 – 69th Annual Meeting of the Holly Society of America

    The 69th Annual Meeting of the Holly Society of America will take place October 27 – 30 at The Landmark Resort, 1501 South Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Beyond the work that the HSA’s Executive Board does, its strength lies in educational outreach and growing the membership. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet and converse with horticultural experts from around the country. Use this chance to broaden your knowledge about hollies through observation and participation so that you in turn can enlighten others. Cathy and Bob Shumate have put together an extraordinary program which will culminate with the ever popular Plant Auction. Here’s your chance to buy hard-to-find hollies and other uncommon plants.

    Speakers will include Mark Weathington, Director of JC Raulston Arboretum at North Carolina State University. He has also served as Director of Horticulture for the Norfolk Botanical Garden and as a horticulturist at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Mark travels extensively searching for new plants to diversify the American landscape. He is currently writing Growing the Southeast Garden, a modern guide to gardening in the Southeast, for Timber Press.

    Juang-Horng “JC” Chong, Ph.D., An Associate Professor and Extension Specialist with Clemson University, is based at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, South Carolina where he does turf and ornamental research as an Entomologist. His current research and extension projects focus on understanding the biology, ecology, and management of scale insects, wood boring insects, spider mites, eriophyid mites and biological control. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arizona and his Masters and Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.

    Augustus Jenkins Farmer III, led teams to plant and establish the vision for two of South Carolina’s major botanical gardens. He is the former director and plantsman of Riverbanks Botanical Garden and of Moore Farms Botanical Garden. With a masters degree in public garden management from the University of Washington and a horticulture degree from Clemson University, he has the combination of horticultural science and museum science needed to set strategic vision for growing plants well. Jenks operates a mail order nursery specializing in organically grown plants of the genus Crinum. He also works as a garden designer from New Orleans to Charleston. He has written Deep Rooted Wisdom: Lessons Learned from Generations of Gardeners.

    Registration forms and full information may be found at http://www.hollysocam.org/meetings-2016.htm

  • Friday – Saturday, September 23 & 24 – Horticultural Bright Lights: The Future of Gardening

    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.

  • Friday, August 19 – Sunday, August 21 – In The Garden Weekend

    Find your green thumb at The Homestead Resort’s In The Garden weekend over the dates of August 19-21, 2016. You will learn time-honored gardening tips from top professionals and enjoy your choice of hands-on garden themed classes amid the resort’s breathtaking scenery. Speakers include Craig LeHoullier, gardener, author and educator, Mark Weathington, Director of the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University and Andre Viette, Horticulturalist, author and lecturer.

    Possessing a PhD in chemistry, Craig LeHoullier’s professional career involved various positions in a major pharmaceutical company. Craig’s passion for tomatoes in particular exploded after joining the Seed Savers Exchange in 1986, and all gardens since focus on open pollinated (non-hybrid) varieties, in a wide range of colors, sizes and flavors. He is responsible for naming, developing and introducing many varieties, such as Cherokee Purple and Lucky Cross, and has been co-leading a unique all-volunteer project to create new dwarf-growing varieties. The project is responsible for 25 new tomatoes available through a variety of seed companies, particularly valuable for space-constrained gardeners who wish to grow wonderful tomatoes on decks or patios.

    Mark Weathington is the Director of the JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University where he is passionate in his work to connect people with plants. His career in public horticulture has also included the Norfolk Botanical Garden where he served as Director of Horticulture and the Atlanta Botanical Garden as a horticulturist. Mark travels extensively searching for new plants to diversify the American landscape and lecturing on a variety of topics in horticulture to further the JC Raulston Arboretum’s vision of “Planning and Planting a Better World.”  Mark is currently writing Growing the Southeast Garden, a modern guide to gardening in the southeast, for Timber Press.

    Horticulturist, author and lecturer, Andre Viette earned his Biological Science Certificate at The State University of New York at Farmingdale, and is a graduate of The School of Floriculture of Cornell University. Mr. Viette hosts his own talk show entitled “In the Garden” and has written several books including Beautiful Roses Made Easy, Mid-Atlantic Gardener’s Guide, and his newest book Mid-Atlantic Getting Started Garden Guide. He has developed André Viette Farm and Nursery in Fishersville, Virginia, which grows over 3,000 varieties of perennials for the sun and shade.

    For complete package details, and reservations, visit https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/homestead-virginia/specials/in-the-garden-weekend