American Public Gardens Association

#GoPublicGardens2025 - We were over the moon seeing the spring blooms bring vibrant colors to the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge in Asheville, North Carolina! The trumpets of spring, those bright yellow daffodils are shinning their petals toward the warm sun. Visitors can further help spread the word about the dazzling new blooms by taking photos and tagging the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge. Wishing them all a wonderful spring season! #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #lakelurefloweringbridge #asheville #ashevillenc #ashevillenorthcarolina #northcarolina spring #spring25 #spring2025 #springblooms #springflowers

?? We are excited to share the American Horticultural Society (AHS) news announcing the seven recipients of the 2025 Great American Gardeners Awards. This is one of the nation’s most esteemed horticultural awards programs and we are thrilled for our members that were recipients. AHS has recognized outstanding individuals and organizations that have excelled in various horticultural fields, such as plant research, garden stewardship, horticultural outreach and education since 1953. Recipients: - Liberty Hyde Bailey Award: Brian Kemble, curator of The Ruth Bancroft Garden and Nursery (Walnut Creek, CA) - Emerging Horticultural Professional Award: Amanda Bratcher, horticulture agent of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension (Lee County, NC) - Jane L. Taylor Award: Amy Padolf, Director of Education of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (Coral Gables, FL) - Garden Stewardship Award: Betty Ford Alpine Gardens (Vail, CO) - Landscape Design Award: Lauren Springer, planting designer and horticulturist (Fort Collins, CO) - B.Y. Morrison Communication Award: Stephanie Cohen, author and speaker (Collegeville, PA) - Frances Jones Poetker Award: Amy Merrick, floral designer, stylist, writer and teacher (New Hampshire, New York, and around the globe) Read more: https://lnkd.in/e4QmNgdw

#GoPublicGardens2025 - During the months of March through May, visitors to McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach, Florida, are sure to see a riot of spring blooms in the ponds, watery mazes, in the canopy and along the historic trails, under spectacularly blue skies. The names of these vibrant spring blooms are listed below: 'Capensis’ Nymphaea One of the 48 waterlilies certified in the Collection of Excellence by the Waterlily and Water Gardening Society The Jade Vine A rare ornamental plant native to the Philippines, known for its cascading clusters of vibrant turquoise or greenish-blue-claw-shaped flowers. Phalaenopsis A particular delight to see this cascade of white phalaenopsis in their jungle habitat. The Dutchman’s Pipe Native to North America, it is a vine known for its pipe-shaped flowers and large heart-shaped leaves. It is the host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly. #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #mckeebotanicalgardens #verobeachfl #verobeachflorida #florida #visitflorida #springblooms #springtime #spring25 #spring2025

Wishing everyone a Happy National Flower Day! We look forward to seeing our member's social feeds each spring in particular because of how those vibrantly colored spring blooms turn your gardens into watercolors paintings. This gorgeous, bearded iris photo was taken at the Knoxville Botanical Garden in Tennessee. #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #knoxvillebotanicalgarden #nationalflowerday

??President Trump issued an Executive Order that would gut the only federal agency dedicated to supporting American museums. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is a government agency that efficiently provides CRITICAL funding to museums and libraries in all 50 states. This Executive Order negatively affects many of our members who have museums and libraries, and we need your help to support them. Every direct job at a museum supports an additional job in the economy and museums support over 726,000 American jobs. IMLS makes up only 0.0046% of the overall federal budget to support, while museums, in turn, generate $50 billion dollars in economic benefits to the American economy and support more than 726,000 jobs. American museums receive bi-partisan support, and research shows that 96% of Americans want to maintain or increase federal funding for museums. Please use the American Alliance of Museums’ template language to email and call your members of Congress today to ask them to save IMLS: https://lnkd.in/e8RaueEY What you can do NOW: 1. Call your members of Congress. Find their phone numbers and a draft script here. Members of Congress are home this week, so be sure to contact their federal AND district offices! 2. Write your members of Congress. Get started with our template letter and PERSONALIZE it with your stories! These emails have significantly more impact when you customize them and tell YOUR story to YOUR elected officials. 3. Write your state and local officials using our template letter. 4. Call your state and local officials. Find their phone numbers and a draft script here. 5. Get your museum’s supporters involved! You can find template language for your email and social media outreach here. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/gkYqBUm3 Photo taken at the Peel Museum & Botanical Garden in Bentonville, Arkansas. #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #federalfunding #aam #americanallianceofmuseums #imls #supportmuseums #supportlibraries #supportlocal #bethechange

#FridayFlora - Nestled along the banks of Bent Creek at the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, North Carolina, and easily reached from the main gardens, the National Native Azalea Collection is a woodland garden with azaleas representing every species native to the US, along with many natural hybrids and selections. In late spring and early summer, the garden is a diverse and eye-catching composition of color, form, and fragrance set among native ferns, wild-flowers, shrubs and trees. During other times of the year the sky opens above the canopy and the natural architecture of the rock out-croppings is revealed. Be sure to explore the various trails throughout the garden. This collection was accredited by the Plant Collections Network in 1995 and consists of 19 taxa. #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #northcarolinarboretum #ncarboretum #asheville #ashevillenc #ashevillenorthcarolina #northcarolina

We are helping out our member Leach Botanical Garden in Portland, Oregon, that is looking for artists, designers, and architects to submit proposals for a semi-permanent art installation in the Garden's Far Meadow. This project seeks to enhance the meadow’s whimsical atmosphere with two symbolic and functional gateways accommodating a 6-foot wide and 7 ? -foot-tall pathway. Proposals can be submitted for one or both of the gateways. The maximum budget for the project is $30,000 for two installations or $15,000 for one installation, which must cover all costs, including: ??Design and materials ??Fabrication ??Transportation and installation TIMELINE ??Site visits: 4/1-4/30 If you are interested in a site visit, please contact Jami LeBaron at [email protected] to schedule. ??Submission Deadline: 4/30/2025 at 5:00pm PST ??Selection Announcement: 5/15/2025 ??Project Completion Deadline: 3/1/2026 #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #leachbotanicalgarden #portland #portlandor #portlandoregon #oregon #artistforhire #RFP #RFPs #greenindustry #greencareer For more information visit the Garden's website at https://lnkd.in/eTkp7Bwe

?? We wish each of you a very happy Spring season! Every season is special in its own way with unique blooms and botanical fragrances that waft through the air as you wander along a garden path. Spring has a little extra seasonal magic as the vibrantly colored flowers burst through the soil and welcome the warmer sunshine. “For me, Spring is a season of hope and possibility. After a long winter, a field of daffodils or a magnolia in full bloom remind you to stop, breathe, and be grateful for the world around you.” - Michelle Provaznik, CEO, American Public Gardens Association Photos 1) Magnolia tree taken at Smithsonian Gardens in Washington, D.C. 2) Daffodils taken at JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR THIS YEAR'S 2025 ANNUAL CONFERENCE in Denver, Colorado! Join us at Denver Botanic Gardens (DBG) in the mile-high city from June 2-5, 2025. DBG last hosted in 2014 and is looking forward to welcoming those who are returning or visiting for the first time. Register here: https://lnkd.in/dbHFf76Y Our Annual Conference brings together hundreds of garden professionals from across the country and beyond to network, learn, and discover new ideas to implement at your public garden. We are eager to see everyone and celebrate together to help shape the ELEMENTAL role public gardens play in today’s increasingly inter-connected world. Early Bird Deadline: April 4, 2025 Regular Rate: April 5-May 16, 2025 Onsite Registration: June 1, 2025 For registration assistance, please email [email protected] or call 610-708-3010. For information about membership or how to join, please go here: https://lnkd.in/dsKm6KCu #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #apga #apgaannualconference #gardenconference #Denver2025 #Denver25 #DenverBotanicGardens #DenverCO #denvercolorado #colorado

#GoPublicGardens2025 - These lovely spring blooms are from the Donald R. and Teresa B. Caine Conservatory and Mariana Qubein Gardens and Arboretum recent Spring Family Weekend Spring Bulb display. The Conservatory is at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina. The Conservatory and Gardens welcomes families to explore its vibrant plant collections, tropical wonders, and peaceful green spaces. They welcome folks to email Director of Caine Conservatory, Jason Lattier to schedule a garden tour at [email protected]. ?? #GoPublicGardens #PublicGarden #PublicGardens #highpoint #highpointuniversity #northcarolina #caineconservatory #spring #springtime #springblooms #spring25 #spring2025