Great American Gardeners & Book Awards Ceremony Going Virtual

Every year it’s our privilege to host a wonderful celebration at our River Farm headquarters recognizing the Great American Gardeners Award recipients. This year however due to extraordinary times, we’re pleased to honor our Award Winners virtually on the web and across social media platforms. Follow the American Horticultural Society on social media where, beginning in mid-June, we will be sharing video messages from this year’s horticultural champions about the inspiring work that they do. It is our hope that by honoring our award winners in the online sphere, it will provide more exposure to their accomplishments.

Created in 1953, the AHS awards program recognizes exemplary professionals and organizations in horticultural fields, and outstanding garden-related authors and publishers. Each of our honorees is selected from nominations across the country for their efforts to advance and celebrate the art and science of horticulture. The 2020 honorees include:

• Blocks in Bloom, a community outreach program in Rochester, NY instilling neighborhood pride through planting
• Landon Reeve, IV, longtime supporter of the AHS through a position on the Board of Directors and grounds maintenance by Chapel Valley Landscape Company
• Catharine McCord of Denver who designs garden spaces for children suffering from mental health issues or trauma
• Steve Castorani whose Philadelphia-area North Creek Nursery was an early champion for the power and utility of native plants.
• Ciscoe Morris, Seattle’s beloved Garden Guru and longtime grounds manager for Seattle University
• Jessica Turner-Skoff, a treeologist at the Chicago-area Morton Arboretum inspiring the next generation of green collar workers with her Planted podcast
• Charles “Chipper” Wichman whose 40 year career at Hawaii’s National Tropical Botanical Garden has been dedicated to the discovery and conservation of tropical plants
• Dan Heims, President of Portland, OR’s Terra Nova Nurseries, breeder of over 1,000 new plant varieties
• Nancy Ross Hugo who, through her floral design workshops, encourages participants to appreciate the unique beauty of every plant
• Michael Balick, preeminent ethnobotanist working to preserve traditional plant knowledge and healing practices
• Grow Dat Youth Farm, teaching leadership and work skills through growing to urban teens in New Orleans
• Leslie Bennett who combats gentrification and displacement in Oakland, CA by creating culturally-relevant garden sanctuaries
• James Folsom whose leadership, dedication, and vision have ensured The Huntington’s place as one of the country’s premier public gardens
• Barry Fugatt, longtime educator in the Tulsa, OK garden community motivated by the desire to “sow seeds into the hearts and lives of people”

For more information on the 2020 honorees, please see ahsgardening.org/awardwinners. Celebrating the successes of our award winners brings attention to the important role that horticulture plays in the health and wellbeing of people and the planet and highlights career pathways for younger generations. Please consider supporting the AHS’s Awards program. Your gift will help us honor America’s best and brightest in the horticulture field and further spread the word about their important work.

AHS Environmental Award Winners Named at Several Flower Shows

The American Horticultural Society’s (AHS) associate director for horticulture Dan Scott and AHS board member Amy Bolton attended The Philadelphia Flower Show in late February 2020 to select the winner of the AHS Environmental Award, which recognizes horticultural excellence best demonstrating the bond between horticulture and environmental impact.

The winning exhibit was “The Olfactory Pathway” by Refugia of Narberth, PA. Refugia’s designs focus on native and edible plantings to create landscapes that are both beautiful and ecologically functional.

Other winners of AHS Environmental Awards to date include:

* “Orca Recovery Garden” by NW Bloom Ecological Services and the King Conservation District at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival in Seattle

* “A Collaborative Garden with International Landscaping and Design and the American Landscape Institute students” at the Maryland Home & Garden Show in Baltimore

* “Between Every Two Pines Is a Doorway to a New World” by Plant Man LLC at the Southern Spring Home + Garden Show in Charlotte, N.C.

* Earth Tones Native Plant Nursery’s 18th century abandoned mine in New England, which now is home to bats and a regrown forest with wildlife. The exhibit was featured at the Connecticut Flower & Garden Show in Hartford, Conn.

Learn more about the AHS Environmental Awards.

American Horticultural Society Names Winners of 2020 AHS Book Awards

The American Horticultural Society (AHS) has selected the three winners of its annual book awards program recognizing outstanding gardening literature.

A total of 50 books published in 2019 were nominated for consideration this year. The three award recipients are:

• The Scentual Garden by Ken Druse with botanical photographs by Ellen Hoverkamp (publisher: Abrams Books).
Designed to reveal the world of sensory experience of plants–including how to sample botanical fragrance, design for it, revel in it, and even capture it—this book was praised by judges for being “engaging, beautiful, and well written with rich descriptions.” Druse is a celebrated lecturer and an award-winning author and photographer from northwestern New Jersey who has published more than 20 garden books over the last quarter century. This is his fourth AHS Book Award.

• The Melon by Amy Goldman with photographs by Victor Schrager (publisher: City Point Press).
This book is a comprehensive and definitive work that includes portraits in words and photographs of 125 extraordinary varieties of melon, expert advice on cultivation and seed saving, and delicious melon recipes. Judges deemed it “scrumptious and luscious” with wonderful storytelling. Goldman—a Rhinebeck, N.Y.-based author, heirloom gardener, and artist—is a passionate advocate for seed saving, plant breeding, and heirloom fruits and vegetables. This is Goldman’s fourth AHS Book Award.

• Fruit Trees for Every Garden: An Organic Approach to Growing Apples, Peaches, Plums, Citrus and More by Orin Martin with Manjula Martin (publisher: Ten Speed Press).
Praised for its botanical illustrations and information on pruning, this book is a full-color guide covering everything you need to know about organically growing healthy, bountiful fruit trees. Martin, the manager of the Alan Chadwick Garden at the University of California at Santa Cruz, is a respected master orchardist, horticulturist, and teacher. This is Martin’s first AHS Book Award.

Over the last two decades, the AHS has recognized outstanding gardening books published in North America with its annual Book Awards. Books are judged by the AHS Book Award Committee on qualities such as writing style, authority, originality, horticultural accuracy, and design quality.

AHS’s 2020 Book Award Committee was chaired by Deb Wiley, a garden writer, editor, and and book project manager in Des Moines, Iowa. Other members were: William Aldrich, founder and former editor of Chicagoland Gardening, from Springfield, Mo.; Kim Toscano Holmes, a garden communicator, educator, and designer based in Stillwater, Okla.; Susan Eubank, a horticultural librarian at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in California; Amy Campion, a freelance garden writer, photographer, and blogger in Portland, Ore.; Catriona Tudor Erler, a garden writer, photographer, and book author based in Charlottesville, Va.; and Nancy Rose, a horticulturist, writer, and former educator and research — based in Jamaica Plain, Mass.

The 2020 AHS Book Awards will be presented on Thurs., June 18 during the Great American Gardeners Awards Ceremony and Banquet at River Farm, the AHS’s national headquarters in Alexandria, Va. For more information about the awards, please visit our AHS Book Awards landing page.

American Horticultural Society Reveals the 2020 Great American Gardeners

The American Horticultural Society (AHS) today announced the distinguished recipients of the 2020 Great American Gardeners Awards. Individuals, organizations, and companies that receive these awards represent the best in American gardening and horticulture. Each has contributed significantly to fields such as plant research, garden communication, landscape design, youth gardening, community greening, and teaching.

Among this year’s winners is James P. Folsom of The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, who is receiving the AHS’s highest honor—the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award—for his achievements in botanical garden and public horticulture leadership. The AHS applauds all of this year’s recipients for their passionate commitment to American gardening and their outstanding achievements within their area of expertise.

This year’s Great American Gardeners Award recipients are:

 

* LIBERTY HYDE BAILEY AWARD – The American Horticultural Society’s highest award, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award is given to an individual who has made significant lifetime contributions to at least three of the following horticultural fields: teaching, research, communications, plant exploration, administration, art, business, and leadership. 
James P. Folsom, Telleen/Jorgensen Director of the Botanical Gardens, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, Calif.

* JANE L. TAYLOR AWARD – Given to an individual, organization, or program that has inspired and nurtured future horticulturists through efforts in children’s and youth gardening. 
Grow Dat Youth Farm, New Orleans, La.

* COMMUNITY GREENING AWARD – Given for exemplary contributions by an individual, institution, or company that demonstrate the application and value of horticulture to creating livable communities that are greener, healthier, and more equitable.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Monroe County’s Blocks in Bloom program, Rochester, N.Y.

* EMERGING HORTICULTURAL PROFESSIONAL AWARD – Given in the early stages of an individual’s career, this award recognizes significant achievements and/or leadership that have advanced the field of horticulture in America.
Jessica B. Turner-Skoff, Treeologist-Science Communication Leader, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Ill.

* LANDSCAPE DESIGN AWARD – Given to an individual whose work has demonstrated and promoted the value of sound horticultural practices in the field of landscape architecture.
Leslie Bennett, Principal, Pine House Edible Gardens, Oakland, Calif.

* B.Y. MORRISON COMMUNICATION AWARD – Recognizes effective and inspirational communication—through print, radio, television, and/or online media—that advances public interest and participation in horticulture. 
Ciscoe Morris, Garden Communicator, Gardening with Ciscoe, Seattle, Wash.

* PROFESSIONAL AWARD – Given to a public garden administrator whose achievements throughout his or her career have cultivated widespread interest in horticulture.
Charles “Chipper” Wichman, Jr., President, CEO, and Director, National Tropical Botanical Garden, Kalaheo, Hawaii. 

* TEACHING AWARD – Given to an individual whose ability to share his or her horticultural knowledge with others has contributed to a better public understanding of the plant world and its important influence on society.
Barry Fugatt, Director of Horticulture, Tulsa Garden Center, Tulsa, Okla.

* PAUL ECKE JR. COMMERCIAL AWARD – Given to an individual or company whose commitment to the highest standards of excellence in the field of commercial horticulture contributes to the betterment of gardening practices everywhere. 
Steve Castorani, Owner and Chief Financial Officer, North Creek Nurseries, Inc., Landenberg, Pa.

* FRANCES JONES POETKER AWARD – Recognizes significant contributions to floral design in publications, on the platform, and to the public.
Nancy Ross Hugo, Floral Designer, Ashland, Va.

* H. MARC CATHEY AWARD – Recognizes outstanding scientific research that has enriched the field of horticulture.
Dr. Michael J. Balick, Vice President for Botanical Science, Director and Philecology Curator, Institute of Economic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, N.Y.

* HORTICULTURAL THERAPY AWARD – Recognizes significant contributions to the field of horticultural therapy.
Catharine McCord, Horticultural Therapist, Denver Botanic Gardens, Denver, Colo.

* LUTHER BURBANK AWARD – Recognizes extraordinary achievement in the world of plant breeding.
Dan Heims, President, Terra Nova Nurseries, Canby, Ore.

* MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARD – Recognizes a past Board member or friend of the American Horticultural Society for outstanding service in support of the Society’s goals, mission, and activities.
J. Landon Reeve, IV, Founder, Chapel Valley Landscape, Woodbine, Md.

 

On Thurs., June 18, 2020, the AHS will honor these award recipients during the Great American Gardeners Awards Ceremony and Banquet, held at the Society’s River Farm headquarters in Alexandria, Va.

For more information on this year’s recipients, please visit our 2020 Award Winners. Photographs of the award winners and additional information about the awards program are available upon request by contacting Erika Christ at (703) 768-5700 ext. 138 or echrist@ahsgardening.org.

About the American Horticultural Society

Founded in 1922, the American Horticultural Society is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization committed to modeling, educating about, and advocating for earth-friendly and sustainable gardening practices. Our mission is to share with all Americans the critical role of plants, gardens, and green spaces in creating healthy, livable communities and a sustainable planet. Since 1973, we have been headquartered at River Farm, one of George Washington’s original five farms that’s situated on a 25-acre site composed of gardens, meadows, and woodlands along the Potomac River in the Mount Vernon section of Fairfax County. To learn more, visit https://ahsgardening.org.