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About our speakers
TIM BOLAND has been the Executive Director at The Polly Hill Arboretum on the island
of Martha’s Vineyard since 2004. He previously held positions as curator at Polly Hill
Arboretum and The Morton Arboretum. Tim is a plantsman with varied interests which
include oaks, magnolias, and the genus Stewartia. His work at the Arboretum includes
developing a modern working flora of Martha’s Vineyard and the adjacent Islands. Tim
travels widely to collect seed for the Arboretum’s collections with nearly a dozen trips
over the last decade in North America focused on native Stewartia and
deciduous azaleas.
Celebrating 20 Years
KONSTANTIN DIMOPOULOS is an Egyptian-born conceptual artist whose art practice
is grounded in his sociological and humanist philosophies. His powerful and often
thought-provoking art investigates globally relevant questions related to ecology
and the human condition. Dimopoulos’ multidisciplinary art incorporates sculpture,
installation, performance, painting, printmaking, and drawing in the creation of
monumental imagery that impacts social and environmental interventions.
SHARI EDELSON serves as Director of Horticulture and Curator at The Arboretum
at Penn State, a post she has held since 2013. She is also Vice-Chair of the Editorial
Advisory Group for Public Garden magazine, the quarterly journal of the American
Public Gardens Association. She holds an MS in Public Horticulture from the Longwood
Graduate Program and a BA in Philosophy from Goucher College.
Chanticleer
Longwood Gardens
Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College
Tyler Arboretum
Sponsored by:
Continuing Education
Longwood Gardens
P.O. Box 501
Kennett Square, PA 19348-0501
Return Service Requested
NATE ERWIN is an entomologist who contracts with the Smithsonian Institution
presenting workshops and lectures; with the Amazon Rainforest Workshops group in
Peru; and with private clients on habitat rehabilitation. After five years as a forest pest
entomologist with the State of Maryland and four years as staff member with the Rachel
Carson Council, Inc., Erwin managed the Smithsonian Institution’s Insect Zoo from
1992-2012, located in the National Museum of Natural History. Erwin has appeared on
National Geographic, BBC, Discovery, National Public Radio, the Late Night Show and
local and national news television with live residents of the Insect Zoo.
TOM SMARR holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Horticulture from the University of
Washington in Seattle, WA. He has worked for the University of Washington Botanic
Gardens in Seattle, WA, New England Wild Flower Society in Framingham, MA,
RFK Greenway in Boston, MA, and the High Line in New York City. He is currently
the Director of Horticulture at 21st Century Parks in Louisville, KY. Tom manages
horticulture and natural areas for Parklands of Floyds Fork, with nearly 4,000 acres of
parkland that fully opened to the public in 2016.
Friday, July 21, 2017
Lang Performing Arts Center
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA
woodyplantconference.org
Lagerstroemia faurieri ‘Townhouse’
MICHAEL STRENGARI is the staff horticulturist at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton,
NJ. He is a graduate of Longwood Gardens Professional Gardener Program and Vice
President of its alumni association. Strengari spent five years learning and working
under the Philadelphia-based garden artist, plantsman, and designer Michael Petrie.
While passionate about plants and design, Strengari is just as enthusiastic about sharing
his knowledge of horticulture to benefit the public.
PETER DEL TREDICI recently retired as Senior Scientist Emeritus after 35 years at the
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. He also taught in the Landscape Architecture
Department at the Harvard Graduate School of Design from 1992 through 2016 and
is currently teaching in the Department of Urban Planning at MIT. He is the winner of
the 1999 Arthur Hoyt Scott Medal presented by The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore
College and in 2013 the Veitch Gold Medal presented by The Royal Horticultural
Society (England).
Woody Plant Conference
7:30 – 9:00
Registration & coffee
12:15 – 1:15
Lunch: Book and Raffle Ticket Sales
7:45 – 8:45
Early Riser Tours of Scott Arboretum
1:15 – 2:45
9:00 – 9:15
Welcome – Claire Sawyers, Director, Scott Arboretum
Gardeners’ Voices – Woody Plant Design In Public Gardens
Shari Edelson, The Arboretum at Penn State
Michael Strengari, Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton NJ
Tom Smarr, 21st Century Parks in Louisville, KY
9:15 – 10:15
Seeing the Forest Through The Blue Trees – Konstantin Dimopoulos
Konstantin Dimopoulos is the artist behind the ongoing global
environmental art installation, The Blue Trees. He created this iconic
artwork in response to what he calls the “insanity behind the wonton
destruction of forests and oceans for greed, convenience, and short
term gain.” The Blue Trees is “a visual scream,” an attempt to give
trees and their ecosystems visibility and voice.
2:45 – 3:15
Break: Last Chance to Buy Books and Raffle Tickets
3:15 – 3:25
Raffle Winner Announcements
3:25 – 4:25
Urban Nature: Human Nature – Peter Del Tredici
Urban ecosystems are the ultimate manifestation of the dynamic
interaction between humans and nature, between our desire for neat,
orderly landscapes on the one hand and our fear of messy ecological
chaos on the other. This presentation will focus on the plants that
grow spontaneously in cities, some native some non-native, and
their remarkable ability to flourish in spite of stressful environmental
conditions. This urban vegetation is as cosmopolitan as the human
population and plays an important role in helping to clean up the mess
we’ve made of the planet by lowering air temperatures, absorbing
storm water runoff, and trapping particulate matter. Like it or not,
this vegetation reflects our irrevocable past and portends our
unpredictable future.
10:15 – 10:45 Break: Book and Raffle Ticket Sales
10:45 – 11:30 Insects Visiting the Flowers of Woody Plants – Nate Erwin
Flowering plants and insects have an intertwining history, dating
back 130 million years. Insects were there ready to take advantage
of a new source of protein and sugar when plants evolved flowers to
reproduce. Plants evolved new strategies not only to fend off insect
herbivores, but to lure insects to their food-rich flowers in exchange for
reproductive services. Different species of trees, shrubs, and vines lure
different insects to help in the process of passing on genes to the next
generation. This presentation explores the diversity of insects that aid
woody plants in their reproductive efforts to produce seeds, nuts,
and fruits.
4:25 – 4:30
11:30 – 12:15 Into The Wild: Tapping Into The Genetic Potential Of North
American Native Plants – Tim Boland
Legendary American horticulturist Polly Hill devoted her life to raising
plants from seed. Through trial and error Polly would eventually name
dozens of plants and her private Arboretum would become a public
garden in 1998. Inspired by her devotion to raising plants from seed,
today the Polly Hill Arboretum travels far and wide in North America
collecting plants that bring the potential of new discoveries to enliven
our collections and gardens with beautiful plants. Join Tim on some of
his past adventures and learn about future genetic potential within the
temperate flora of North America.
Closing Comments
Registration fee includes lunch, refreshment breaks, and free
admission to sponsoring institution sites, July 22 and July 23.
Register Online to pay by credit card: woodyplantconference.org
Mail your registration form(s) to pay with a check to:
Continuing Education, Longwood Gardens,
P.O. Box 501, Kennett Square, PA 19348-0501
Please make checks payable to Longwood Gardens, Inc.
Register early and save! Deadline for early registration is June 21.
Pre-registration is required; no walk-ins, please.
Name:
Organization:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Phone:
Email:
Please check type of sandwhich preferred for lunch:
❏❏
Slow Roasted Turkey with Tomato, Black Pepper-Parmesan Mayo, Frisee
Lettuce on Multigrain Roll
❏❏
Black Bean Hummus, Pickled Red Onion and Baby Spinach on Ciabatta Roll
4:30 – 5:30 Reception: mix and mingle with speakers and horticulture
professionals. An additional $20 fee required. Space is limited.
❏❏
GF- Black Bean Hummus, Pickled Red Onion and Baby Spinach on GF Bread
5:45
❏❏
Last Shuttle to Springfield Mall
I’d like to attend the following:
Reception mix & mingle $20: Space is limited
REGISTRATION FEE: Register early and save!
❏❏
$99 per person if postmarked by June 21, 2017
❏❏
$129 per person if postmarked between June 22 & July 14
Registration fees less a $30 processing fee will be refunded if cancellations are
made by July 14. No cancellations will be accepted for refunds after that date.
Conference Highlights
•Talks by noted horticulturalists and designers
•Free admission to co-sponsoring institution
gardens July 22 and July 23
Registration Form
Friday, July 21, 2017
Lang Performing Arts Center, Swarthmore College
This conference offers CEUs for:
International Society of Arboriculture certified arborists • Pennsylvania and
New Jersey landscape architects • PA Certified Horticulturists
For directions, visit:
www.woodyplantconference.org
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