The Design Team
About Piet Oudolf
Piet Oudolf is among the world’s most innovative garden designers and a leading figure in what has come to be known as New Wave Planting, a movement that takes inspiration from nature but employs artistic skill in creating planting schemes. He has designed gardens and public parks throughout Europe and the United States, winning multiple awards. His own garden and nursery (run by his wife Anja) in Hummelo, NL are world famous. A skilled plant breeder, he’s well known for exciting new varieties, often bred for specific design purposes.
Oudolf is famed for his artful uses of perennials and his “new wave planting style” in which naturalistic combinations of native plants, perennials, grasses, bulbs and other plant material are used to create harmonious landscapes that evolve over the seasons as do landscapes in nature. The artistry of Oudolf’s new wave style is most keenly evident as the seasons progress through summer and fall into winter. Oudolf’s designs play off plant selections that look magnificent in their summer prime and also in their winter senescence when seedpods, berries or dried stems and grasses may continue to provide shape, color and interest. He is the author of Designing with Plants, and co-author of Planting the Natural Garden, Dream Plants for the Natural Garden and Gardening with Grasses.
About Jacqueline van der Kloet
Jacqueline van der Kloet is an internationally-acclaimed garden designer and one of Holland's best-known gardening authorities.
As a landscape architect and designer, she is renowned for the artfulness of her naturalized plantings and her bold use of color. In 2005, Van der Kloet’s redesign of a prominent four hectare section of the world-famous Keukenhof Show Garden in Lisse, NL was unveiled to much acclaim. She was also chief designer for Holland's 2002 Floriade world horticultural exhibition and designed the historical garden for the Dutch prime minister's residence. She has a private client practice as well.
In recent years, she has been sought-after on the international front, as well, designing large projects in Germany, China, Japan, Sweden, the USA and Kuwait. She is a frequent guest gardening expert on Dutch television, her work is regularly featured in gardening magazines, and she has written several books. She and her designs have also been profiled numerous times by American gardening magazines.
Van der Kloet’s sophisticated designs feature inspired, often impish, mixes of perennials and flower bulbs with blooming shrubs and trees. Her gardens surprise and delight, initially, and continue to charm as the seasons progress. Van der Kloet’s gardens have a relaxed random feel that belies the artistry behind her plant placement. Her preferred color palettes are soft yet riveting, her signature look is stylish and eclectic.
About Frans Roozen
Frans Roozen is technical director of the International Flower Bulb Center (IFBC) in Hillegom, NL.
The IFBC is the education/research/promotion arm of the Dutch flower bulb sector (the association of all Dutch bulb growers, exporters and auction houses). Frans, whose family has been in the bulb business for 150+ years (in Holland and elsewhere, including Washington state), travels the world lecturing professionals and average gardeners in the use of Dutch flower bulbs in the landscape and for forcing.
The New York Botanical Garden Team
About Todd ForrestTodd A. Forrest, Vice President for Horticulture and Living Collections, is responsible for the department’s programs and activities including all the gardens, grounds, exhibitions, and its staff of 60 managers, curators, and gardeners. Mr. Forrest received his Master of Forest Science degree from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and has made a great impact as an expert advocate for historic trees, forests, and urban landscapes, and for the interpretation of gardens and collections to the public. He previously worked at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and joined The New York Botanical Garden first as an intern in 1997 and then as a research assistant after graduate school in 1998. He became a vital part of the Botanical Garden’s horticulture staff in 1999. Mr. Forrest is also an instructor on ornamental woody plants and an author of articles and interpretative materials for visitors.
About Margaret FalkMargaret Falk, Associate Vice President for Landscape, Gardens, and Living Collections, leads the team that manages the outdoor gardens and collections across the Botanical Garden’s 250-acre National Historic Landmark site. She arrived at the Garden as a student in the School of Professional Horticulture, joining the Plant Records staff after graduating in 1989. After successfully building the Garden’s Plant Records and interpretation programs, Ms. Falk was promoted to Director of Plant Records and Information in 2005. Her myriad contributions to the Garden have included successful migration of the plant records from index cards, field books, and paper maps to a computerized map and database; labeling of tens of thousands of plants in the permanent collections, seasonal displays, and glasshouse exhibitions; creation of new signage and interpretation for the exhibitions, gardens, and grounds; and leadership of the team of curators responsible for developing the Garden’s diverse living plant collections.
About Karen DaubmannKaren Daubmann, Director of Exhibitions and Seasonal Displays, oversees all logistical aspects of the Garden’s burgeoning horticultural exhibition program, including coordinating with designers, art handlers, and associated vendors for the planning, installation, and deinstallation of several major shows each year. Ms. Daubmann received her master’s degree in Public Horticulture Administration from the Longwood Graduate Program at the University of Delaware and her bachelor’s degree in Urban Horticulture and Turf Grass Management and Landscape Architecture from the University of Rhode Island. She came to the Garden in 2007 from the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh where she was Director of Horticulture.
About Mobee WeinsteinMobee Weinstein is Foreman of Gardeners for Outdoor Gardens at The New York Botanical Garden. She is a graduate of the Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture, received the North American Certificate in Horticulture from The American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta (formerly AABGA now American Public Gardens Association, APGA), and holds a BS in Plant Studies from Lehman College of CUNY. Ms. Weinstein has been at the Botanical Garden since 1980 and has worked in most areas there. She frequently teaches and lectures to various groups and organizations, is an instructor in the Garden’s Continuing Education program and was also an Adjunct Professor at Farmingdale State University for over 20 years. She appears on television and radio, and has been published numerous times. Mobee is a past President of the New York Chapter of The American Fern Society and has been a Judge for the Philadelphia Flower Show for 15 years.
The Chroniclers
About Tovah Martin
One of this country’s best-known garden writers and lecturers, Tovah Martin is the author of The New Terrarium, Tasha Tudor’s Garden, Tasha Tudor’s Heirloom Crafts, View from a Sketchbook, Garden Whimsy, Heirloom Flowers and several other books on gardening. Her articles are often featured in Country Gardens, Garden Design, La Vie Claire, Nature’s Garden, Country Living, Cottages & Gardens, and Horticulture as well as many other publications. She has been a guest on several television programs, and has served as editorial producer of the PBS television series Cultivating Life. In 2008, Tovah was the recipient of The Garden Club of America’s Sarah Chapman Francis Medal for outstanding literary achievement.
About Rob Cardillo
Rob Cardillo has been photographing gardens, plants and the people who tend them for the past 20 years. Formerly Director of Photography for Organic Gardening magazine, he now works for major publishers, horticultural suppliers and landscape designers throughout the United States.
Rob is a member and past Regional Director for the Garden Writer's Association. He also serves on the Education Committee for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. His website is www.robcardillo.com or visit his blog.