On Friday, August 2 from 2 to 3 pm, Lesley Parness will visit the Main Library to shed light on New Jersey's rich horticultural history. Known for its tomato production, New Jersey was once also a leader in peaches, orchids, and turf. Parness, a horticultural expert with a distinguished career at museums and botanic gardens worldwide, will delve into the innovative 19th-century New Jersey plant nurseries that pioneered breeding, greenhouse, field, and marketing techniques.
Parness's talk will highlight the horticultural superstars who called New Jersey home and contributed significantly to the state's legacy in plant science and cultivation. This event promises to be particularly engaging for older children interested in science, offering a unique look at the intersection of history, horticulture, and innovation.
Lesley Parness is a retired superintendent of horticultural education at New Jersey's Morris County Park Commission. During her tenure, she oversaw programming and interpretation at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Willowwood Arboretum, and Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center. She is the author of the bi-monthly "The Garden Historian" column in Gardener News Magazine and a member of several prestigious organizations, including the Herb Society of America, the Council on Horticultural and Botanical Libraries, and Garden State Gardens, a consortium of New Jersey's public gardens of which she is a founding member and past president.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn from a true expert in the field. Register today and immerse yourself in the fascinating world of New Jersey's horticultural heritage.
This article was generated with the assistance of ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI.
