This daylong symposium is hosted by Longwood Gardens, Chanticleer Foundation, and the Professional Horticulture Alumni Association, with additional support from North Creek Nurseries and The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College.
2024 Schedule
8:00–8:45 am
Registration, Visitor Center
Continental breakfast provided in the Music Room.
8:00 am–4:45 pm
Plant Sale, Patio of Oranges
Shop an eclectic offering of houseplants, perennials, woodies and more. Proceeds from the sale benefit educational travel for students of the Longwood Gardens Professional Horticulture Program.
8:50 am
Welcome, Conservatory Ballroom
Alex Correia, Event Chair
9:00 am
Gravetye Manor: William Robinson’s Wild Garden
Tom Coward
Gravetye Manor Head Gardener Tom Coward enlightens us on the restoration and improvement of Gravetye Manor, the historic Sussex garden of William Robinson—a well-known gardener and author who transformed Victorian gardening through innovative ideas and publications. In this talk, Coward explores Robinson’s life and his influence on horticulture, covering topics such as flower gardens, wild gardens, kitchen gardens, and orchards.
9:45–10:15 am
Morning Break
Refreshments provided in the Music Room.
10:15 am
The Conservation Status of Trillium in North America
Amy Highland
Emerging as one of the first signs of spring, the iconic trillium are loved by many, yet many are at extinction risk. During this talk, Director of Collections for Mt. Cuba Center Amy Highland explores the many common threats facing both threatened and nonthreatened trillium taxa alike, while sharing findings from The Conservation Status of Trillium in North America, the first comprehensive report on North American trillium since Fred and Roberta Case’s 1997 monograph. This report, created in conjunction with Mt. Cuba Center, the Albuquerque Bio Park, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Natureserve, illustrates a change in our understanding of species, their distribution, and the threats they face in the wild.
11:00 am
Life Lessons from the Garden
Rizaniño “Riz” Reyes
Pursuing a career in horticulture has many challenges, especially when nature is often your boss. During this talk, Assistant Director of Heronswood Garden and RHR Horticulture Owner Rizaniño “Riz” Reyes digs into his roots and discusses weeding through obstacles, cultivating opportunities, and planting ideas with youth by exploring different ways of nurturing the next generation of garden enthusiasts.
11:45 am
Lunch
Boxed lunches will be provided in the Music Room.
1:00 pm
Welcome Back and Scholarship Announcement
1:05 pm
Professional Horticulture Program Alumni Spotlight
Temporary Spacemaking: Gardening at the Philadelphia Flower Show
Martha Keen
Learn which design and construction considerations go into producing a successful show garden from Martha Keen, horticulture manager and co-founder of Apiary Studio, a firm that for three years running has been a major exhibitor at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Through a carousel of process photos, Keen reviews her experience creating displays at the show’s indoor and outdoor venues, starting with the conceptual and schematic phases, through fabrication and project management, to the final reveal.
Planting for the Future: Equity in Installation
Rob Shaut
In this talk, Rob Shaut of nonprofit organization Casey Trees shares how the organization approaches equitable tree installation, public outreach, and urban forest advocacy in disadvantaged communities and areas with high development pressure in Washington, DC. Hear how the team tackles species selection in the face of the climate crisis and delve into the importance of effective policy to protect the existing tree canopy of the greater Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
2:00 pm
Afternoon Break
Refreshments provided in the Music Room.
2:30 pm
Pollinators in the Woods? Wild Bees in Woody Habitats and How You Can Support Them
Dr. Kass Urban-Mead
We often celebrate pollinators in gardens and meadows, yet more than two-thirds of northeastern wild bee species rely on forest habitats for part of their life cycle. In this talk, Dr. Kass Urban-Mead discusses how wild bees use forests—from the leafy forest floor to the top of the canopy—and explores how management for diverse, climate-resilient forests can help save the bees.
3:15 pm
A Manifesto for Ugly Duckling Landscapes
Julie Bargmann
Landscapes are hard, all messy and complex. Sites are entangled, many toxic and degraded. Neighborhoods are complicated, uniquely layered and wanting. To evoke the swan from tough sites, good design isn’t enough; environmental regeneration, social equity, savvy resourcefulness and sheer joy are required. In this talk, regenerative landscapes expert and educator Julie Bargmann explores how careful, slow looking reflects a restraint to unearth and give form to optimistic experiences in unlikely places, like an unexpected garden, both intimate and immense.
4:00 pm
Closing Remarks