Participating Horticulture Professionals

Glenn Ashton Ashton_Glenn1.JPG
Head Gardener, Meadowbrook Farm

Glenn is head gardener at PHS Meadowbrook Farm in Abington Township, PA. He spends his days designing and tending the showcase beds at the large public estate garden, and he also gets to live at the farm. “It’s an incredible experience to wake up at such a beautiful place every day,” he says. But living there doesn’t keep him from regularly heading home to tinker in the garden in which he grew up. “It’s my living laboratory,” Glenn says of his parents’ property. “It lets me see what works and what doesn’t work.” As a teenager, Glenn developed a keen interest in the natural world, from plants to birds to bugs, by poring over books and magazines and observing various ecosystems outside his house, such as uncultivated spaces around the neighborhood. “I remember being amazed by visits to the city and seeing plants growing in abandoned places,” he says. A few years after high school, Glenn went to work at Snipes Farm, a local garden center, and began to transform the landscape at the family home. With his parents’ approval, Glenn leveled the raised vegetable beds and planted the area with trees, shrubs, vines, and perennials—just about any plant that caught his attention. Glenn’s job at Meadowbrook Farm keeps him busy creating, planting, and maintaining its demonstration gardens. He also leads workshops on a variety of topics, such as how to attract hummingbirds. 

Lorraine Calder
President, White Flower FarmCalder_Lorraine.jpg

Born and raised in Connecticut, Lorraine migrated to Colorado to study Horticulture at Colorado State University. After a few years of exploration, she returned home and began her career with White Flower Farm working at their store as a retail clerk. Throughout the years, Lorraine was given various assignments in all areas of the company which culminated in an offer to lead the organization as President which she has now done for 20 years. In this role she was able to blend her skills as leader and organizer with her passion for plants. After almost 40 years of service, Lorraine is now mentoring the Company’s next generation of leaders.

Sabatino Campellone, Ph.D.
Arborist Representative, Bartlett Tree Service Campellone_Sabatino.JPG

Sabatino was born and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. After completing a Bachelor of Science in Biology at Temple University, he pursued a Master of Science in Environmental Science at Drexel University. Facilitated by his interest in arboriculture, Sabatino continued his education for a Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering at Drexel University. In collaboration with Bartlett Tree Experts, he conducted ecohydrology research that evaluated the importance of street trees in our urban environment. As an arborist representative, Sabatino now brings his knowledge and passion to inform clients on best management practices that protect and care for their plants.While in his personal time, Sabatino enjoys spending time with his family and is an avid outdoor enthusiast, whether he is hiking the Appalachian Trail, kayaking the Delaware River, or cycling around the city of Philadelphia.

William Evans Evans_William.JPG
North American Director, Fertil Fiber Pots
President, Quince Creek LLC

Bill is North American Director for Fertil Fiber Pots, and President of Quince Creek, LLC.

 

 

 

 

Margaret A. Gianquinto gianquinto.JPG
Product Manager, Fred C. Gloeckner & Company

Maggie got her start in horticulture at the age of 15 when she got a job at a local garden center specializing in herbs, annuals and perennials. Over the years while working there she developed a love for horticulture and making the world more beautiful through the use of plants. When it came to college she got a degree in Environmental Planning and Design with a focus in Landscape Industry from Rutgers University. Throughout her tenure there she continued to expand her knowledge base through various classes focused on plant identification, landscape architecture and design, plant propagation and pathology. While in college she continued to work at her local garden center during the summers and utilized her new knowledge to further assist customers in making the best decisions for their garden and landscaping needs. After college she started at McHutchison Horticultural Distributors working in Customer Service and Inside Sales. While there she was introduced to a different side of the horticultural industry and became knowledgeable on multiple product lines from numerous suppliers, including unrooted cuttings, seeded plugs, bulbs, liners and foliage.  Currently she works for the Fred C. Gloeckner Co., a distributor of seeds, plants, bulbs and greenhouse supplies from worldwide sources, as a Plant Product Manager. On a daily basis she helps to facilitate sales, marketing & promotion, logistics and customer service of 35 different plant programs between the sales team, customers and vendors. Industry trade shows and vendor open houses offer exciting opportunities to get up close and personal with new plant genetics and help strengthen vendor and customer relationships. Every day presents a different challenge so she’s never bored.

Elizabeth Haegele Haegele.jpg
Owner, Fine Garden Creations

Liz is the owner of Fine Garden Creations - which has been serving the broader Philadelphia area with great pride and dedication for over 25 years. With excellent customer service and innovative horticultural design, they have built a lasting legacy in the Delaware Valley.  From highly respected cultural and city landmarks to backyards and rooftops, FGC invests creative passion and hard work into every project.  They offer a wide variety of horticultural services of the highest standards and it is their goal to create satisfying outdoor living spaces for their clients. In addition to high quality planting projects, they design and install garden architectural features such as walkways, patios, steps, walls, outdoor fire pits and ponds. 

Jennie Love Love_Jennie2.png
Owner, Love 'n Fresh Flowers

Owner and Creative Director at Love 'n Fresh Flowers, Jennie Love is a trained professional horticulturist and an experienced, life-long farmer. Jennie has led numerous workshops over the years, including regularly sold-out Master Classes at her farm and classes for Longwood Gardens' Floral Design Certificate program. She has also presented to many garden clubs, trade associations, and other organizations throughout the country. A charismatic and passionate flower farmer, Jennie found her natural niche as a "farmer florist" for wedding and event design, becoming a recognized leader of the local flower movement. She has been featured in the New York Times for her farm-to-centerpiece efforts. She was named one of the top wedding florists in the nation by Martha Stewart Weddings (Spring 2015 issue) and her work had a special four page spread in the Summer 2016 issue. Her distinctively lush and textural floral designs have enlivened hundreds of weddings as well as numerous photo shoots, magazines, style blogs, and books. Jennie is currently the President of the International Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers and writes a regular article for the Cut Flower Quarterly.

Nick McCullough Mccullough_nick.jpg
Owner, McCullough's Landscape and Nursery

Nick has owned and operated McCullough’s Landscape & Nursery, LLC since 1997. Family operated design, build and maintain, the business is a blend of Nick’s artistic vision, his Midwestern roots, and a genuine love of making exceptional properties. When it comes to the art and science of landscape design, Nick McCullough’s talents lie in both worlds. He studied both horticulture and art history at The Ohio State University, giving him a unique perspective on every design project. Furthering his experience, he also studied landscape design in Northwest England. The aesthetic of English gardens made a profound impact on Nick, and many of his projects have ties to the classic design elements found in the English countryside. 

Kelly Meringolo KellyMeringolo.jpg
Product Manager, Fred C. Gloeckner & Company

A love for science and math throughout middle and high school, combined with an interest in gardening, put Kelly on a path which led her to study Ornamental Horticulture at the University of Delaware.  Throughout those years, she immersed herself in plant biology and identification courses as well as other related classes including soil science, entomology and landscape design.  Her summers were spent in the lab and out in the field collecting data for research projects as well as working in landscape maintenance. Upon graduation, she found herself in an unexpected role as a Plant Product Manager for the Fred C. Gloeckner Co., a distributor of seeds, plants, bulbs and greenhouse supplies from worldwide sources.  In this position, she has seen how plants get from the breeder’s lab to the consumer’s yard by working with all facets of the distribution chain.  Travels have taken her to various breeding company headquarters in Europe and to Central America where she saw firsthand production of mother plants, cuttings and seed.  Participating in industry trade shows and vendor open houses around the U.S., tie together the sales and marketing aspects of her position. On a day to day basis, it is customer relations specialists and logistics managers, domestically and abroad, that ultimately get products into the hands of consumers. The constantly evolving horticultural industry challenges her every day.  She tells us that she is excited to see what the future brings.

John Murgel murgelj2.jpg
Horticulture Manager, Denver Zoo

John is the Horticulture Manager at the Denver Zoo, where he leads the team of horticulturists that keep the zoo exhibits and gardens looking their best.  As a zoo horticulturist, John is passionate about the co-evolution and coexistence of plants and animals from insects to elephants - and about making great places for humans to spend time outdoors in the city!  Urban horticulture is what makes urban life "livable"! John studied evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado and Horticulture at Colorado State University. 

Cari Peters Raymond, Ph.D. Peters.JPG
Vice President, J.R. Peters Company

Cari Peters is part of the 3rd generation of her family's company ― J.R. Peters. She is currently in charge of formula research and development and laboratory services in Allentown PA. Cari is the newest generation of blue hands constantly looking for ways to help growers feed their plants more efficiently using the many specialty formulas of Jacks fertilizers. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware and a masters and Ph.D. in plant sciences from the University of Maryland, but says she learned all she knows about fertilizer blending and the chemistry behind it from her father and grandfather.

Barb PiersonPierson_Barb.jpg
Nursery Manager, White Flower Farm

Barb’s passion for plants began at an early age, growing up in a family greenhouse operation.  She earned her B.S. in Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture from Cornell University.  Since 1998, Barb has had the pleasure of growing the amazing diversity of plants that White Flower Farm has to offer.   One of the most rewarding parts of her position is mentoring greenhouse growers and watching them succeed.  As a member of the product development team she is able to combine the science of growing with the art of design and regularly speaks on topics such as Container Design. 

 

 

 

Michele Scheiber, Ph.D. SeedYourFuture-02_R.jpg
Director of Breeding, Star Roses and Plants

Dr.  Scheiber oversees all activities related to the Star Roses and Plants breeding and New Product Development departments. She joined Star Roses and Plants in 2009, then known as The Conard-Pyle Company as the Senior Breeder in the ornamental breeding program focused on developing novel herbaceous perennials and shrubs utilizing traditional breeding and advanced technology. Prior to that she was an assistant professor at the University of Florida concentrating on water conservation and environmental impacts of landscape management practices. As a graduate student at the University of Georgia, Michele conducted research on the improvement of woody landscape species through interspecific hybridization including investigation of physiological and genetic components in the genus Abelia. Michele has practical background with work in southern U.S. botanical, and university trial gardens. Michele completed her Doctorate in Philosophy of Horticulture, and Masters of Horticulture Science at the University of Georgia. Her Bachelors of Plant Science at Louisiana Tech University. 

Suzanne Wainright-Evans Suzanne-Wainwright-Buglady.gif
"The Buglady" Buglady Consulting

Suzanne Wainwright-Evans is a horticultural entomologist specializing in integrated pest management.  Suzanne has been involved in the Green Industry for more than 28 years with a primary focus on biological control and using pesticides properly.  She is a graduate of the University of Florida with degrees in both Entomology and Environmental Horticulture.  She has worked throughout the United States and internationally consulting to greenhouses, nurseries, landscapers, cannabis production and interiorscape companies.   Additionally Suzanne is frequently published in trade magazines, teaches workshops and lectures professionally to industry groups. Her lectures use her extensive library of insect photos and macro insect movies. She has spoken at the Smithsonian Institute as well as appeared on Growing a Greener World on PBS.  She is the owner of Buglady Consulting, now in business 18 years.

 

Susan E. Yoder, I.O.M. SeedYourFuture-02_R.jpg
Executive Director, Seed Your Future

Susan is the Executive Director of Seed Your Future – a national movement to promote horticulture and encourage more young people to pursue careers working with plants. For most of her career, she has worked with organizations that focus on youth development and providing children, youth and families with opportunities to grow and thrive. She is passionate about the outdoors and the positive impact it can have on physical and emotional health. She is dedicated to finding more opportunities to move the traditional classroom outside, thus providing youth with the opportunity to learn about — and in — the natural world. An avid outdoorswoman and gardener, her personal motto is “Think Outside – No Box Required.”