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A chat with two-time Alex Laurie Award winner Matt Taylor

At the OFA Short Course in July 2011 Longwood Gardens’ Research Horticulturist Matt Taylor joined a special club that only four other horticulture authors have reached. At the conference Taylor received the Alex Laurie Award—an award that recognizes the most significant floriculture research of the year—for the second time. No author has received it more than twice. 

“It’s extremely humbling to win this award—I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this research without the support here at Longwood Gardens,” says Taylor.

The Alex Laurie Award is presented by OFA to the author(s) of the most significant applied floriculture research paper published in any of the three refereed American Society for Horticultural Science publications during a calendar year. Articles from HortTechnology, HortScience, and the Journal for the American Society for Horticultural Science are considered for the award.

The award was presented for “Physical Properties of Biocontainers for Greenhouse Crops Production,” published during 2010 in the HortTechnology journal. Taylor authored the research with Michael Evans from the University of Arkansas and Jeff Kuehny from Louisiana State University. Each researcher receives an honorarium, a plaque, and an opportunity to participate in the 2012 OFA Short Course program.

Taylor guest-authored a blog post that discussed his research on Biocontainers in the fall of 2010.  Click here to read his post.

About his subject matter, Taylor says he got interested in the properties of biocontainers since there were many on the market that were not well understood.

Taylor says, “There are so many new options for greenhouse growers to be more sustainable.  What we wanted to find out was if a grower chooses to use one of these new biocontainers, what can they expect in terms of container strength, water use and crop growth compared to using traditional plastic?”

A second-time winner
This is the second time Taylor has won the prestigious award. He previously received it in 2009 for “Substrate Acidification by Geranium: Temperature Effects” & “Substrate Acidification by Geranium: Light Effects and Phosphorus Uptake,” authored with Paul V. Nelson, Professor Emeritus at North Carolina State University and Jonathan M. Frantz at USDA ARS in Toledo, Ohio. 

When asked if he has goals of winning the award a 3rd time, Taylor says, “I am always doing research and strive to break new grounds—I’m thrilled to have won it twice, but will definitely keep my goals set on the possibility of a third win.” 

About the Alex Laurie Award
The award was established in honor of the late Alex Laurie (1892-1982), renowned floriculture teacher and researcher at The Ohio State University and founder of the Ohio Florists’ Association (now OFA – the Association of Horticulture Professionals).

An exclusive preview Continuing Education discusses its upcoming year of classes

The kids might just be going back to school—but don’t forget school is always in session with the Continuing Education Department at Longwood Gardens! Unlike regular school, our hands-on classes take place in the midst of our Gardens’ lush, natural beauty. Our Continuing Education team just finalized and booked its 2012 classes and instructors.

“When putting together next year’s course offerings we focused on having a strong variety—not just a strong variety of subject matter, but on price points and the times classes are offered,” says Continuing Education Coordinator Joan McClintock. Our classes have something for everyone from the novice to the professional.

McClintock says the new 2012 schedule will feature returning favorites like monthly floral  fun classes and the all-day and half-day winter workshop, “Ideas for Impact.” “Last year was the first year we offered this creative class that inspires students to plan their garden for the coming year. After leaving either the half or full-day session, students go home with easy-to-implant game plans for updating the look and feel of their gardens from our team of experts,” says McClintock.

Even though the hearty 50+ page catalog doesn’t hit Garden Pass Member mailboxes until November, Continuing Education Coordinator, Joan McClintock gives us a first look at what new and exciting programs we can look forward to getting our hands dirty with next year!

NEW! All About Orchids
McClintock anticipates that a new all-day workshop called “All About Orchids” will be popular with Members and guests this winter.

“To accompany our beautiful Orchid Extravaganza display, we have a  workshop  this year that speaks to all of the orchid enthusiasts that will be visiting us during January, February, and March. The workshop  includes a behind-the-scenes tour of Longwood’s orchid collection and discussions with orchid experts about new ideas, techniques, and more,” says McClintock.

“All About Orchids” will be broken up into four exciting segments that cover orchid biodiversity, tours of the greenhouses, orchid conservation, and orchid repotting. You will take home some of your “work."

NEW! Livable Landscape Lecture Series
Be sure to look out for this exciting new lecture series in partnership with Stroud Water Research Center, “Livable Landscape: Cultivating and Ecosystem Esthetic”.

“The idea behind this new series was to bring multiple layers of information about livable landscapes to the general public. The series is based in science, landscape design and architecture. The speakers are experts from around the region who will share their knowledge and passion for making sustainable choices” says McClintock.

NEW! Seasonal birding classes
“In this series we wanted to showcase our perimeter lands and our native birds that habitat Longwood during the different seasons,” says McClintock. Three different bird classes will be offered during the spring and summer.

Bookmark our Continuing Education registration website! Registering for classes is a click away!
Online registration for Continuing Education classes launched last year—and already many of our students are using this online tool. According to McClintock, “Our CE students tell us adding this feature has been extremely helpful—they know they have a spot secure in a class instantaneously,” says McClintock. 

Although our schedule of classes for 2012 won’t be posted for a few more months, there are still spaces available in some of our fall Continuing Education classes. Click here to view our remaining 2011 classes and sign up today!