Get to know: Alan, Rotary Botanical Gardens’ new horticulturist

Greetings! My name is Alan and I am really excited to be joining the team here at Rotary Gardens in beautiful Wisconsin. I’m a native Pennsylvanian, who for the past decade has resided in the Pacific Northwest in Everett, Washington. It was there that I started my studies and career in horticulture.

Having previously completed a degree in German, I returned to school in 2019 to obtain a degree in Horticulture with a specialization in Nursery and Greenhouse Management. Upon graduating I landed an internship at the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, Washington. Here I gained experience using proper horticultural practices to care for an incredibly diverse set of plantings. I also did extensive work propagating and caring for plants in the garden’s nursery.

This experience was followed by a stint at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, where I worked as a Plant Records Assistant. My role here had me taking inventory of various plant collections, assisting with the maintenance of the collections database, as well as the production of plant labels and garden signage. Other experience includes working for several retail nurseries and serving as a board member for the Evergreen Arboretum and Garden.

Since starting here at the garden this past November, I have been putting my prior experience with labeling plants to good use. I have identified and produced labels for many of the trees and shrubs in the garden (250 and counting). I am looking forward to getting these installed this spring and after finishing up with the trees and shrubs moving on to identifying and labeling all the perennials. This will hopefully help to enhance the experience for visitors in the garden.

It should be no surprise given my role at the garden that I am very passionate about plants. I have amassed quite a large personal collection of plants that many people might find a bit mad. I will confess to be little concerned myself when nearly half of the U-Haul I rented to relocate here was filled with plants. Everyone and everything made it just fine, so I guess I’m not yet at a point of “having a problem.”

One question that I am often asked that I find impossible to answer is, “what is your favorite plant?” The closest thing to an answer that I can give would be to say that I like a lot of ericaceous plants, meaning plants found in the Health family (Ericaceae). This includes plants such as Rhododendrons, Enkianthus, and Kalmias (mountain laurels). I am looking forward to working with Michael to bring some of the hardier varieties of these plants to the garden.

One of my favorite plants that I have encountered as I have been working in the Gardens is the Japanese Stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia) found inside the south entrance to the Japanese garden. With white camellia-like flowers appearing in spring, attractive foliage shades of reddish-orange and burgundy in autumn, and a horizontal branching structure and smooth cinnamon mottled bark, this small-to medium-sized tree is truly a spectacle and adds four seasons of interest to any garden.

In Southern Wisconsin (5b) Stewartias are best situated in an area that provides them with afternoon shade in the summer and shelter from winter winds.

While I have met some of the many amazing volunteers here at the Gardens, I know that there are many more of you who I have not yet met, and I am looking forward to working with all of you this coming season.

See you in the Gardens,
Alan