JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 9 10 12 16 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Director’s Greeting . .2 President’s Greeting . .4 #GWA2018 Keynote Speaker . 5 Membership Committee Report . 6 Sustainability Committee Report. 7 Lurie Garden Is a Enter GWA Media Awards . .8 Nominate Honors Candidates . 9 On the QT Readership Survey. 9 Pitching Articles . 10 Downtown Draw New Members . 11 GWA Upcoming Events. 11 BETH BOTTS Helping GWA Grow . 11 Climate Change . 12 GARDEN LURIE COURTESY PHOTO New & Noteworthy . 13 Hot Off the Press . .14 A river of perennial blue salvias runs through Lurie Garden in summer. Member Benefits . 15 Member-led Garden Tours. 16 One of the top tour stops the midwestern prairies he visited, Lurie Kids and Gardening . .18 at the #GWA2018 Confer- Garden is a naturalistic landscape, not a PAR Blog Begins. 19 ence & Expo in Chicago, is natural one. It’s a carefully composed tapestry Regional News & Notes. 20 a relatively secluded gem that interweaves about 35,000 perennials— Regional Events. 21 Louise Clarke Profile . .22 in the middle of the city’s some 200 species and cultivars—with shrubs Doug Oster Profile . .23 most visited attraction. and trees. The character of the garden shifts Green Industry News . .24 Millennium Park, the through the seasons, from early spring bulbs 25-acre playground through a purple river of salvia in May to between Lake Michigan and Chicago’s golden grasses in autumn. Can’t log into the website? Visit MyGWA downtown skyscrapers, attracts more than under Member Resources, click here. A 13 million visitors a year. Only about 4 million SUSTAINABLE GARDEN login screen will appear. Click “Forgot your of them venture through 12-foot-high The garden is remarkably sustainable password?” Enter your email address. hedges to discover a sweeping vista of because the plants were chosen to comple- A message will be sent with a secure link masterfully blended perennials and trees: ment each other in every way, including their to set or reset your password. Click the the Lurie Garden. The 2½-acre garden was needs. They thrive with minimal watering, no link and choose a new password. Once complete, you may login using your email designed by famed Dutch designer Piet pesticides or fertilizers and are tended by a as username and your new password. Oudolf (who went on to design the High Line handful of staff members and a loyal crew of For issues, please call 212-297-2198. in New York City) and opened in 2004. volunteers. Although Oudolf took inspiration from — Continued on page 3 • • 1 • • JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2018 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S GREETING MARIA UNGARO On the QT is the membership newsletter of the GWA: The Association for Garden What Will You Do Differently in 2018? Communicators. It is published bimonthly and distributed electronically. Happy New Year! If you’re looking to start the New Year off with a new © 2018 GWA All rights reserved outlook, GWA can help. We’ve put together a list of easily attainable resolutions that can benefit you personally and professionally. Tackle PUBLISHER one (or more) of these resolutions in 2018: GWA 355 Lexington Ave., 15th Floor • New York, NY 10017 Network, Network, Network: GWA offers a variety of networking events throughout the 212-297-2198 [email protected] year. Take a look at our event calendar and make a point to attend at least one event this year. Learn a New Skill or Improve the Ones You Have: Join one of our Power Circles or partic- EDITORIAL Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp, Editor ipate in one of our webinars. We have lots of great ones coming up. If you miss any, they are [email protected] recorded so you can watch them on your own time. Cathy Wilkinson Barash, Copy Editor Get Involved: Volunteer to serve on one of GWA’s many committees. It’s a great opportunity [email protected] to make connections and practice the skills needed to advance your career. Paul Wilson, Graphic Designer Get Recognized for Your Talent: The 2018 GWA Media Awards are now open for entries. [email protected] This year’s awards cover more than 50 categories across seven disciplines, including writing, ADVERTISING/CIRCULATION photography, speaking, digital media, broadcast media, publishing and trade. Save $25 and Ashley Hodak Sullivan submit your entry by February 15. Please see Page 8 for details. 212-297-2198 [email protected] Share Your Passion and Knowledge: Write a blog for GWAGrows or an article for On the QT. The information contained in articles and advertisements herein represents the opinions of the authors and advertisers, Recruit A Friend to Join GWA: Recruit one of your friends to join and enjoy all of the and although believed to be accurate and complete, is not represented or warranted by GWA to be accurate or complete. benefits together (and you will get a $20 credit towards your dues renewal. Recruit six GWA disclaims any and all responsibility for damages suffered members and your membership pays for itself.) as a result of reliance on information contained herein. Get Inspired: Come to the GWA Annual Conference & Expo August 13-16 in Chicago in 2017-18 GWA BOARD OF DIRECTORS conjunction with the IGC Show. You will walk away ready to take on anything, including your President Becky Heath • Brent & Becky’s Bulbs New Year’s resolutions. Make 2018 the year you maximize your GWA membership! Vice President Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp • Write for You! LLC Treasurer Maria Zampini • UpShoot LLC Not a member of GWA? What’s stopping you? Join today! There are so many wonderful Secretary Ellen Zachos • Backyard Forager perks to being a member. Past President Kirk R. Brown • John Bartram Lives I wish you all the best in the year ahead. DIRECTORS N = National Director • R = Regional Director • Date = Term Expires REGION I REGION IV (con’t) C.L. Fornari (2019 N) Barbara Wise (2018 R) The Garden Lady Crescent Garden, LLC Carmen DeVito (2019 R) Groundworks Inc. REGION V Join the Jan Johnsen (2018 R) Bill Johnson (2019 N) Johnsen Landscapes & Pools Bill Johnson Nature Stock American Photography Inc. REGION II Rita Perea (2018 R) Kathy Jentz (2020 N) International Contemplative Horticultural Washington Gardener Garden Association Teresa Speight (2019 R) Shelley Cramm (2019 R) Society Cottage in the Court Freelance Denise Schreiber (2018 R) The American Horticultural Society (AHS) Freelancer REGION VI is a national membership organization that Mary-Kate Mackey (2020 N) REGION III Freelance supports sustainable and earth-friendly Diane Blazek (2019 N) Jacqueline Soule (2018 R) gardening. All-America Selections/ Gardening with Soule National Garden Bureau Tova Roseman (2019) Member benefits include: Beth Botts (2018 R) Tova’s Garden • Six issues of The American Gardener Morton Arboretum magazine Susan Martin (2019 R) REGION VII Gardener Sue’s News Ken Brown (2018 N) • Opportunity to participate in the annual gardening-enjoyed.com AHS Seed Exchange program REGION IV Wendy Downing (2018 R) • Access to members-only area of website Brienne Gluvna Arthur Freelance • Free admission and other discounts at (2018 N) Bob Howard (2019 R) 300 public gardens and arboreta Brie Arthur Consulting The Hamilton Spectator Cheval Opp (2019 R) Cheval’s Garden Tours www.ahsgardening.org/join • • 2 • • — Chicago, continued from page 1 Speakers Sought for #GWA2018 The Education Committee sseeks breakout and roundtable proposals focused on business, horticulture, photography, publishing, social media, speaking, sustainability and writing PHOTO COURTESY LURIE GARDEN GARDEN LURIE COURTESY PHOTO for our 2018 GWA Annual Conference & Expo, August 13-16 in Chicago. Lurie Garden is surrounded by a tall hedge, giving the visitor the sense of being enclosed in nature. #GWA2018 is an inclusive opportunity for all For visitors from around the world, down- a major bird migration route, where seeds current and future GWA members to engage town residents and workers who escape for and insects in the garden attract birds all year. in exceptional formal and informal learning a break or a brown-bag lunch, Lurie Garden It is thronged with butterflies and many kinds experiences that support career development, is a haven that surrounds them in nature. But of bees. increase individual productivity, and provide it’s a man-made haven: The garden sits on the Those who can spare an extra day will be innovative insights and solutions to industry roof of a three-level parking garage built over free to explore the rest of Chicago’s front yard, challenges. We invite proposals that: a busy set of commuter railroad tracks running a sweep of linked parks and gardens two miles atop landfill covering what was once the long and a half mile wide between the Loop • Reflect innovation and cutting edge shallows of Lake Michigan. (Chicago’s downtown) and Lake Michigan. content • Target new, mid-career, or seasoned The northern corner is just three blocks south professionals SPECIAL GWA TOURS of the conference hotel, the Hyatt Regency • Stimulate and provoke discussion and Conference attendees will get special tours Chicago. Photographers should plan to be audience engagement and insights from the Lurie Garden’s director, there early morning when the sun rises out Laura Ekasetya, as well as Scott Stewart, direc- • Provide diverse approaches for different of the lake. tor of Millennium Park. Conferees also have the types of learners opportunity to enjoy Chicago’s wildlife. The Beth Botts is chair of the local organizing • Present evidence based on or supported city lies in the middle of the Mississippi Flyway, committee for #GWA2018. by research • Use multimedia approaches to enhance attendee learning • Explore issues important to national #GWA2018—Get Involved audiences Region III members are busy preparing for #GWA2018, the 70th annual GWA Annual Conference GWA anticipates sending acceptance & Expo in Chicago August 13 through 16.