The Desert Botanical Garden - American Public Gardens Association

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 Concurrent Session I (9:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.)
Horticulture II: Charismatic
Megafauna
Are rascally rabbits and destructive deer running
amok in your garden? Come hear about proven
tactics implemented in many situations to keep
deer, geese, rabbits, and rodents from ruining
your display.
This session will address control tactics used by public
garden professionals in a variety of environments
and geographies to deal with a garden’s “largest” pest
problems.
Our panel of Horticultural IPM experts will discuss
the challenges associated with mitigating these pests
in highly public areas, whether they be in the conservatory
or landscape. We’ll address the many unique
challenges of public gardens here: public opinion,
awareness, laws/regulations, urban/garden interfaces,
and how accessibility can affect any strategies
implemented.
Whether you care for plants in a small area, or are
concerned about hundreds of acres, your concerns will
be covered in this session.
Presenters: Scott Creary, Integrated Pest Management Specialist and Display
Horticulturist, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens; Mike Leventry,
Integrated Pest Management Specialist, Longwood Gardens; Scott LaFleur,
Director of Horticulture, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden; Brandi Eide, Collections
Manager Agavaceae, Aloaceae, Non-Cactus Succulents, Desert Botanical Garden;
Shane McGuire, Conservationist, Dawes Arboretum
And the day came when the risk
to remain tight in a bud was more
painful than the risk it took to
blossom.
Anais Nin
Through the Looking Glass
If we want our guests to look at us differently, we
have to think about ourselves differently.
While most gardens make routine, and sometimes
novel, programming adjustments to increase attendance,
nothing reaps higher dividends than looking at
your garden holistically as an experience destination.
As we learn to see ourselves as more than “just” plant
collections, thinking like a brand that knows its audience
and elicits human emotions is the key to making
visitors members and members loyal advocates.
Our industry is in flux. Large-scale flower shows have
all but gone away. Make every effort count. Learning
how to use brand and product strategy, and having
a decision matrix and planning cycle, will bring the
highest ROI to your garden as you look beyond plants
to grow your audience.
Darwin had it all wrong. To survive against competitive
leisure offerings requires new ways of seeing, not
fitness. Learn how brand and product portfolio strategy
– not brawn – are helping two very different gardens
and their audiences evolve from seeing them as mere
plant collections to emotionally engaging experience
destinations.
Presenters: Peter Vertes, Director of Marketing & Communications, Cleveland
Botanical Garden; Linda Smith, President, Smithink; Marnie Conley, Marketing
Department Head, Longwood Gardens
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