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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FEBUARY 6, 2009
CONTACT
MAC Events: Jack Quinn - 800-332-3976 x122, jack@macevents.com
Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Leeann Lavin - 718-623-7289, leeannlavin@bbg.org
7th Annual New Jersey Flower and Garden Show
Brooklyn Botanic Garden's VP of Horticulture to Deliver Talk
Plus Curators & Gardeners from Brooklyn Botanic Garden to Judge the Flower Show's Garden Display Competition for the Second Year
SPRING LAKE, NJ—FEBUARY 6, 2009—The theme of the 7th Annual New Jersey Flower and Garden Show, which will be in full bloom from February 12-15 at the NJ Expo and Convention Center in Edison, NJ is “It's a Colorful World!” In concert with this year's theme, the show has challenged entrants in the various competitions to design vignettes and floral arrangements that show an innovative and exciting use of color. Patrick Cullina, Brooklyn Botanic Garden's vice president of Horticulture & Science Research, will present a talk at the Flower & Garden show. Additionally, four talented gardeners from Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Horticulture staff will return this year to judge the garden displays entered into the show's popular educational competition.
Cullina's talk, titled “Local Color: Drawing Design Inspiration from the Natural World,” will explore the color ideas that proliferate throughout local environments, offering a compelling palette that can inform choices for the gardener to satisfy every taste and point of view. Prior to joining Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) in 2005, Cullina served for more than ten years as the Associate Director of The Rutgers Gardens at Rutgers University where he oversaw the organization, in addition to the restoration, development and expansion of the collections. An avid horticultural photographer, plantsman and popular lecturer, he received the Garden Club o' New Jersey's Gold Medal in 2005.
Additionally, four talented gardeners from Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Horticulture staff will return this year to judge the garden displays entered into the show's entertainment and educational competition.
The garden design judging team is led by Mark Fisher, director of Horticulture, who has served BBG in a variety of roles over the last 24 years. Most recently he was supervisor of the conservatory/tropical plants, with six gardeners reporting to him. Fisher has also judged the prestigious Philadelphia Flower Show, the oldest flower show in the country. Fisher earned a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from Colorado State University.
At BBG for ten years, Karla Chandler is the curator of the Warm Temperate House, where she designs and maintains the display containers as well as the outdoor summer displays on the Terrace. She earned an Associate of Science degree form SUNY Morrisville, with a major in Horticulture. Chandler has been a judge for the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest, the annual community horticulture program featuring a competition among commercial business and between scores of Brooklyn residents committed to block beautification and making Brooklyn “green.”
Mike Mauro is the curator of the Plant Family Collection for specific areas, including the rose, willow, hydrangea, and ranunculus family collections. In his 10 years at the Garden, Mauro also earned a certificate in Horticulture from BBG and captured a coveted spot in the Garden's horticulture intern program. Mauro received an Associate of Science Degree, with a major in architecture from the College of Staten Island. Mauro has worked as a designer and installed gardens and terrace gardens in New York. He now teaches two of the eight Horticulture certificate program classes at BBG, and frequently judges the Greenest Block in Brooklyn Contest.
Nancy Nieland is the gardener of Ground Care, responsible for working with BBG's gardeners for the maintenance and care of the plant collections in BBG's 52 acres. Nieland has been with the Garden for five years. She received a Certificate in Horticulture from BBG, studied Interior Landscaping and Horticultural Therapy at New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in the Bronx, and earned a rooftop and terrace gardening certificate form the Horticultural Society of New York. In addition, Nieland has extensive, hands-on experience working on the garden design and maintenance of urban terraces and rooftop gardens.
As a botanic garden devoted to education and research, BBG curators follow mission-driven guidelines outlined in the Garden's Plant Collections Policy to acquire plants that have horticultural, educational, and scientific value. To increase plant diversity, BBG Curators participate in a seed exchange with botanic gardens all over the world, which allows BBG to propagate rare and international plants.
All of the plants introduced to BBG are integrated into the Living Plant Collection database and tracked—which helps distinguish a botanic garden from a display garden. Each plant is labeled with both the common name and the botanical or Latin name, enriching the visitor's learning experience in addition to the sensory enjoyment of the plants. Conservation and biodiversity are the twin pillars that underscore the Garden's efforts to highlight the fact that plants are essential to life.
Hailed as “the premier horticultural attraction in the region” by the New York Times, Brooklyn Botanic Garden is the world's leading urban horticultural resource and home to a dozen signature gardens, including the first Japanese garden created in an American public garden, the nation's first garden created for the visually impaired, and the world's oldest children's garden in a botanic garden. Over 12,000 kinds of plants from around the globe are displayed outdoors on the grounds and in the acclaimed Steinhardt Conservatory. Each year more than 700,000 people visit BBG's 52 acres of formal and informal gardens, to experience the Garden's romance and beauty, and to mark the passage of the seasons and life. No matter what the season, something is always in bloom at BBG.
The Garden Club of New Jersey, founded in 1925, is a federation of individual local garden clubs throughout the state with over 5,000 members, age 6 to adult. Its mission is to promote the love of gardening, floral design, and civic and environmental responsibility. “We are pleased that the Garden Club of New Jersey will once again hold their standard flower show as part of our show”, said James J. McLaughlin, President of MAC Events, the producer of the New Jersey Flower and Garden Show. “With a show titled Color Explosion and competitive classes such as Color Harmony and Complimentary Colors, in addition to the Youth entries Jazzberry Jammin', visitors will be dazzled with a kaleidoscope of color,” he added.
Garden lovers will catch their first scents of spring as they stroll through the verdant full-scale display gardens with colorful flowers, bubbling fountains, creative lighting and garden pavilions. Shoppers will get a full dose of retail therapy in the Great Green Marketplace where they can scoop up antique urns and planters, wall vases, fresh flowers and plants and the latest in gardening gloves and tools. The pros will be on hand to offer tips on green gardening and how to make the prefect planter for your patio or front porch and children will get their hands dirty at the interactive area GROWING UP GREEN. Call 1-800-332-3976 or visit www.njflowershow.com for show details.