Life and work of J.C. Raulston celebrated at JCRA 30th Anniversary Symposium
Plant professionals, friends, colleagues and former students of J.C. Raulston who made presentations included (from left) Bobby Ward, Bill McNamara, Peter Del Tredici, Kim Tripp, Don Shadow, Roy Lancaster and Michael Hayman.
Photo by Chris Glenn
It was a plant-lovers' gathering that would have made J.C. Raulston proud, as eminent local, national and international plant professionals gathered in late September to celebrate his work.
The late horticultural scientist and namesake of N.C. State University's JC Raulston Arboretum was the inspiration for a three-day symposium and tour event - a celebration of the arboretum's 30th anniversary - called "Plan - and Plant for a Better World." The title is a quote from Raulston, who in 1976 established the nationally acclaimed 8-acre garden, which boasts the most diverse collection of cold-hardy temperate zone plants in the southeastern United States.
The symposium, which ran from Sept. 22 to 24, honored Raulston with presentations by speakers drawn from among his colleagues, his former students, plant professionals and the nursery industry.
Symposium guests also had opportunities to tour local gardens and nurseries, bid on a variety of offerings at a live auction hosted by Plant Delights nursery owner and gardening writer Tony Avent and attend a private country club reception and dinner.
More than 170 people attended the symposium weekend presentations, while more than 500 participated in the tours.
"I was pleased at the general level of excitement that permeated the entire symposium and the opportunities all participants had to renew old acquaintances and plan joint efforts for the future," said Dennis J. Werner, JCRA director. "The symposium brought a lot of creative people together."
Keynote speaker was Roy Lancaster, writer, broadcaster and plant explorer, who worked at England's University of Cambridge Botanic Gardens and at Hillier Nurseries in Hampshire before becoming first curator of the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in 1970.
Other speakers were Dr. Peter Del Tredici, senior research scientist at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum; Roy Dicks, friend of Raulston and music and theater reviewer for the Raleigh News & Observer; Michael Hayman, horticulture enthusiast and photographer for the Louisville (Ky.) Courier Journal; Bill McNamara, director of the Quarryhill Botanical Garden in Glen Ellen, Calif.; Don Shadow, owner of Shadow Nursery Inc. in Winchester, Tenn.; Dr. Kim E. Tripp, director of the New York Botanical Garden and alumna of N.C. State University; and Dr. Bobby Ward, author, retired environmental scientist and NCSU alumnus.
"All of the speakers are highly respected in their particular area of expertise, and the quality of the presentations was incredible," said Werner. "We attempted to have an appropriate mix of topics that covered plant exploration, plant science and new plants in the nursery trade - talks that reflected the legacy of sharing of J.C. Raulston and of the arboretum that is named after him."
Garden and nursery tours included Plant Delights Nursery at Juniper Level Botanic Gardens in Raleigh and Montrose in Hillsborough, as well as six Raleigh gardens in conjunction with the Garden Conservancy's Open Days Tour. Proceeds from the event will benefit the JCRA and the Garden Conservancy.
- Terri Leith
The late horticultural scientist and namesake of N.C. State University's JC Raulston Arboretum was the inspiration for a three-day symposium and tour event - a celebration of the arboretum's 30th anniversary - called "Plan - and Plant for a Better World." The title is a quote from Raulston, who in 1976 established the nationally acclaimed 8-acre garden, which boasts the most diverse collection of cold-hardy temperate zone plants in the southeastern United States.
Pictured above are sites in the nationally acclaimed arboretum that bears Raulston's name.
Photos by Terri Leith
Photos by Terri Leith
Symposium guests also had opportunities to tour local gardens and nurseries, bid on a variety of offerings at a live auction hosted by Plant Delights nursery owner and gardening writer Tony Avent and attend a private country club reception and dinner.
More than 170 people attended the symposium weekend presentations, while more than 500 participated in the tours.
"I was pleased at the general level of excitement that permeated the entire symposium and the opportunities all participants had to renew old acquaintances and plan joint efforts for the future," said Dennis J. Werner, JCRA director. "The symposium brought a lot of creative people together."
Keynote speaker was Roy Lancaster, writer, broadcaster and plant explorer, who worked at England's University of Cambridge Botanic Gardens and at Hillier Nurseries in Hampshire before becoming first curator of the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in 1970.
Other speakers were Dr. Peter Del Tredici, senior research scientist at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum; Roy Dicks, friend of Raulston and music and theater reviewer for the Raleigh News & Observer; Michael Hayman, horticulture enthusiast and photographer for the Louisville (Ky.) Courier Journal; Bill McNamara, director of the Quarryhill Botanical Garden in Glen Ellen, Calif.; Don Shadow, owner of Shadow Nursery Inc. in Winchester, Tenn.; Dr. Kim E. Tripp, director of the New York Botanical Garden and alumna of N.C. State University; and Dr. Bobby Ward, author, retired environmental scientist and NCSU alumnus.
"All of the speakers are highly respected in their particular area of expertise, and the quality of the presentations was incredible," said Werner. "We attempted to have an appropriate mix of topics that covered plant exploration, plant science and new plants in the nursery trade - talks that reflected the legacy of sharing of J.C. Raulston and of the arboretum that is named after him."
Garden and nursery tours included Plant Delights Nursery at Juniper Level Botanic Gardens in Raleigh and Montrose in Hillsborough, as well as six Raleigh gardens in conjunction with the Garden Conservancy's Open Days Tour. Proceeds from the event will benefit the JCRA and the Garden Conservancy.
- Terri Leith