Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Monday 31 July 2017
Public gardens work to pass on prized horticultural skills

By NATALIE POMPILIO GoPro and a gimbal cam-
Associated Press era to get his shots.
KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. “We have to find new
(AP) — Growing the so- methods to add to the tool-
called “thousand bloom box to teach new horticul-
mum” — a show-stopper turists what’s important,”
at Longwood Gardens’ said Ralston, who admitted
fall Chrysanthemum Festi- she wasn’t aware chrysan-
val — takes 18 months and themums and mums were
thousands of worker hours. the same thing until her first
In the week before the an- day on the job.
nual event, at least six peo- This year, Longwood would
ple work full-time prep the like to see its thousand
plant. bloom top 1,500 blooms
But with fewer young in time for the Chrysanthe-
people choosing careers mum Festival in October.
in horticulture, Longwood It can’t get much bigger,
is working to ensure that Galano said, because it
the effort and expertise wouldn’t fit through the
that goes into growing this greenhouse door.
Japanese specialty plant Attention to detail is criti-
is preserved for future gen- cal. Some practices are
erations. Three college stu- simply hard to explain,
dents are documenting Amanda Galano, third from right, demonstrates how she encourages the growth of a Thousand Galano said, and a care-
how to successfully raise a Bloom Chrysanthemum to students Rebecca Ralston, right, Joy McCusker, and Max Gold at Long- fully narrated how-to video
wood Gardens in Kennett Square, Tuesday, July 11, 2017.
thousand bloom mum by Associated Press makes a big difference.
creating a video archive Growing New Gardener That said, best garden-
that can be used to teach and the loss of gardening
future generations of horti- knowledge in general.”
culturists and also spark in- In an effort to spark interest
terest in the field. in the trade, the nonprof-
“The younger generation it organization annually
can’t see the reward of do- awards scholarships to stu-
ing this,” said Jim Harbage, dents studying horticulture
floriculture Leader at the and related fields. Simi-
1,000-acre (405-hectare) larly, the American Public
garden and education Gardens Association has
center in Kennett Square, partnered with public gar-
about 35 miles west of Phil- dens nationwide, including
adelphia. “It’s not enough Longwood, on the Seed
to have a sense of pride. Your Future initiative, which
It’s not something that promotes horticulture as a
pays a lot of money.” career for young people.
The fear of losing the tricks Longwood Gardens de-
of the horticulture trade cided to partner with the
is not limited to growing University of Delaware as
chrysanthemums. Patricia part of its “succession plan-
Binder, spokeswoman for ning,” said gardener Tim
National Garden Clubs Jennings, who specializes
Inc., said there is a concern in water lilies.
“about the potential loss In days past, a young Amanda Galano demonstrates to students how she encourages the growth of a Thousand Bloom
of institutional knowledge gardener would learn Chrysanthemum in a greenhouse at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Tuesday, July 11,
2017.
trade secrets from a mas- duced nine videos that ing practices are always
ter gardener. Current document part of the mum evolving, Jennings said.
Longwood mum master, growing process. He’s confident that while
Amanda Galano, worked Each student has a differ- the videos will serve as
in the shadow of now-re- ent role in documenting starting points for newcom-
tired Yoko Arakawa, who the processes. Sophomore ers, they’ll need to be up-
brought the thousand Rebecca Ralston, who is dated as years pass.
bloom mum to the public studying wildlife and the “Gardening is not a stag-
garden. environment, writes the nant field. The nature of be-
Arakawa learned the intri- script for the video. Junior ing a gardener is wanting
cacies of growing the com- Joy McCusker, who is study- to try something new,” he
plex plant through multiple ing landscape architecture said. “Every year it’s, ‘What
trips to her native Japan, and landscape horticulture if we did this? What if we
where successfully growing design, is “the lens,” follow- changed that?’ We’re al-
a thousand bloom is con- ing the master gardeners ways trying to make things
Amanda Galano demonstrates to students how she encourages
the growth of a Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum in a green- sidered an art some call around as they work and easier and less labor-inten-
house at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Tuesday, July “high-wire horticulture.” taking precise notes. Senior sive while balancing that
11, 2017. By the end of this summer, Max Gold handles visuals with tradition and not stray-
Associated Press the students will have pro- and has used drones, a ing too far afield.”q