Lecture Series Devotee Shares Her Bliss

Posted in Learning Experiences on January 13 2009, by Plant Talk

Joan McGillicuddy, a double certificate graduate of the Continuing Education program, now has her own design company, The Surrogate Gardener, on Long Island.

It’s a new year, so it is time for me to see which lectures in the American Gardening Lecture Series I might be able to schedule. I started attending NYBG’s Lecture Series years ago as part of a personal goal to expand my plant knowledge. I went on to complete two certificates, one in Horticulture and one in Landscape Design, through the Botanical Garden’s Continuing Education program and now have a career as a landscape designer. Yet, every year I still make time to attend several of the lectures in this series. I am an unrepentant plantaholic. In spite of what some garden design books say about having a plan, several past presenters have admitted to the same compulsions, so I merrily continue to experiment with new plants.

It doesn’t matter how many garden books or magazines I read, there is nothing like the immediacy of listening in person to experts— landscape architects and designers, plant hybridizers and nurserymen, authors and garden curators—impart their knowledge. The Lecture Series always offers a diverse mix of subjects and speakers, and I always leave inspired to try new plant introductions, new combinations of tried and true plants, or new horticultural practices. Then there is the added treat of reviewing the books laid out like jewels on the tables in the Gallery outside the Lecture Hall, which only tempts me to go to the Shop to review the entire book collection.

The Lecture Series is scheduled at a perfect time of the year, when my garden is quiet and nursery catalogs are arriving and I have time to track down the plants I am inspired to try. After the lectures and a bowl of soup at the Cafe, I stroll through NYBG’s gardens and see which plants are greeting the new year, since it is warmer here than at my home on Long Island. My favorite plant is the large Hamamelis on the outer drive that holds its yellow flowers through the snow. It always signals to me that spring is around the corner. The Ladies’ Border, which runs along the south side of the Conservatory, always has something new in bloom each month of the series, whether it is January, February, or March. It might be Mahonia, Edgeworthia, Hamamelis, Helleborus, or Camellia. This year it will be a treat to watch the emergence of the display beds across from the Cafe entrance, known as Seasonal Walk, that were created by the well-known designers Piet Oudolf and Jacqueline van der Kloet. I happened to see the beds being installed this past fall, and they look to be an intriguing mix of bulbs, perennials, and grasses.

At a time when much of the world news is gloomy, it is nice to have all this to look forward to.