American Horticultural Society announces 2024 Great American Gardeners Awards recipients

Since 1953, the American Horticultural Society’s Great American Gardeners Awards has recognized individuals and organizations that have achieved horticultural excellence to fields such as plant research, garden stewardship, horticultural outreach and teaching. This year, the AHS is recognizing six of these individuals/organizations with the 2024 Great American Gardeners Awards.

Liberty Hyde Bailey Award: Jim Nau (posthumously), Chicago, Illinois

Given to an individual who has made significant lifetime contributions to at least three of the following horticultural fields: teaching, research, communications, plant exploration, administration, art, business and leadership.

Jim Nau, the recipient of the AHS’s highest honor, was a revered figure in the horticultural world. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from Iowa State University in 1982, Nau dedicated his entire 37-year career to Ball Horticultural Company, where he excelled as a plant expert, writer, speaker, historian and garden designer. He passed away in 2023.

Nau’s expertise extended to plant variety trialing, where he meticulously evaluated and recommended top varieties for North American growers. His role as the manager of trial gardens at Ball’s headquarters in West Chicago allowed him to oversee the testing of various plants annually, becoming an authority on seed companies, breeders and plant varieties across different genera. He is also credited with helping to identify Wave petunias, a breeding breakthrough in the bedding plant standards, developed by Kirin and PanAmerican Seed.

Apart from his research contributions, Nau was renowned for his historical insights into the seed and horticulture industries. He curated books, catalogs and objects and served as the Ball archivist while also documenting the life of prominent breeders, such as Claude Hope. 

Communicating his vast knowledge widely, Nau authored essential publications like The Ball Culture Guide and contributed to industry publications, such as GrowerTalks. His dedication to promoting horticulture earned him accolades like the Garden Media Promoter Award from the Perennial Plant Association. He was a sought-after speaker, even giving lectures throughout Korea that played an instrumental role in establishing floriculture for the coming Olympic Games. 

Responsible for the overall garden of Ball’s 55-acre headquarters, Nau created a true treasure trove of the best plants from around the globe. Over time, with Ball President and CEO Anna Ball’s unwavering support and inspiration, the garden grew into a full-scale wonderland with trees, shrubs, garden features and displays of annuals and perennials.

As a leader and mentor, Nau’s impact was profound. He spearheaded professional organizations like All-America Selections and mentored more than 100 interns throughout his career. Jim Nau’s collaborative spirit, generosity, passion and immense contributions to horticulture have left an indelible mark on the industry. His legacy continues to inspire future generations of horticulturists and is fondly remembered by colleagues and industry leaders alike.

Emerging Horticultural Professional Award: Kenton Seth, Fuita, Colorado

Given in the early stages of an individual’s career, this award recognizes significant achievements and/or leadership that have advanced the field of horticulture in America.

Kenton Seth is the owner of Colorado-based garden design business Paintbrush Gardens, co-author of the New York Times-acclaimed 2022 book The Crevice Garden and former head of horticulture for Western Colorado Botanical Gardens. He is an international speaker, a nursery owner/operator, an accomplished propagator of novel plants and a designer and plantsman of crevice gardens, meadow gardens and native plant landscapes.

In his freelance garden design work, Seth consults for, designs and installs rock, native plant and xeric gardens. His designed landscapes range from Colorado and the Pacific Northwest to North Carolina and New Zealand. While primarily an educator, consultant and designer, he also installs public demonstration exhibits and residential landscapes to test, perfect and demonstrate new techniques and plants. His mission is to demonstrate and facilitate examples of dry or unirrigated landscapes that are also ecologically beneficial to raise the demand for such landscapes.

Seth earned a BFA in Studio Art from Colorado Mesa University and a Master Gardener certification from Colorado State University.

Jane L. Taylor Award: Ashley Krueger, Fort Collins, Colorado

Given to an individual, organization or program that has inspired and nurtured future horticulturists through efforts in children’s and youth gardening.

Ashley Krueger is the education coordinator at the Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she has led the education, equity and access department since 2016. As a leader, she works to create culturally responsive, developmentally appropriate, interdisciplinary opportunities where teams can cultivate independence, curiosity, creativity and critical thinking. Krueger’s leadership is informed by 14 years of experience in informal learning environments, including nature centers and botanic gardens across the western United States.

At the gardens, Krueger heads Project Hort, a free summer career training and volunteer program for teens entering grades 7-12 who are passionate about gardening. The teens gain hands-on horticultural job skills working in the garden with plant professionals. 

In addition to her work at the Gardens on Spring Creek, Krueger also leads an organizational collaborative, NOCO Beet, to ensure environmental education is in every grade in every school in the region. She is a published author of research on the development of empathy for wildlife as well as a children’s book illustrator and author of the award-winning The Curious Little Snail. Krueger holds a Bachelor of Art in Sociology from Colorado College, a Master's in Education from the University of Washington and a Certificate in Environmental Education and Community from IslandWood.

Garden Stewardship Award: University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho

Given to a public garden that embraces and exemplifies sustainable horticultural practices in design, maintenance and/or programs.

The University of Idaho stewards two arboreta: C. H. Shattuck Arboretum (a 14-acre naturalized arboretum started in 1909) and the Arboretum and Botanical Garden (a 64-acre cultivated arboretum founded in 1982). Jointly, the arboreta embrace sustainable horticultural practices in design, maintenance and programs. Their sustainability practices include maintaining site integrity, such as mulching with site-sourced materials, creating their own compost and minimizing herbicide and pesticide use; conserving water through plant choices, recirculation systems and permeable surfaces; reusing local materials for hardscape and paths; cultivating habitat for birds; and reducing carbon footprint by reducing mowing and switching to electric tools.

The University of Idaho Arboreta educate the region’s professionals about sustainable horticultural practices, as well as encouraging and disseminating research in fields such as plant hardiness, systematics and hybridization. They function as sites for instruction in botany, horticulture, forestry, landscape architecture and environmental sciences, as well as for public field trips, lectures and tours. They also serve as restful, beautiful environments where visitors can cultivate an appreciation of the importance of plants.

Horticultural Innovation Award: New Directions in the American Landscape, Glenside, Pennsylvania

Given to an individual or company whose innovations have made the field of horticulture more sustainable and accessible to all.

New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL) is an educational organization dedicated to the art, culture and science of ecology-based landscape design and practice. NDAL has been a pioneering influence in this field since 1990 and continues to educate landscape architects, landscape designers, horticulturists and the gardening public.

NDAL’s impact stems in part from an expansive approach envisioned by its founder, Larry Weaner of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates. Besides the creative integration of science and design at NDAL events, topics in anthropology, history and the arts provide designers with a rich framework for understanding the full extent of what’s possible and required by ecological/cultural design. Paired with these innovative theoretical investigations is a commitment to exploring tangible, practical techniques for diverse scales and contexts.

NDAL’s programming includes an annual design symposium on landscape, ecology and culture, as well as a regular schedule of presentations from visionaries such as Ian McHarg and Doug Tallamy. In more recent years, NDAL has expanded its programming to include home gardeners, students and educators through virtual and regional events.

Community Greening Award: Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Given for exemplary contributions by an individual, institution or company that demonstrate the application and value of horticulture to creating livable communities that are greener, healthier and more equitable.

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), an internationally recognized nonprofit organization founded in 1827, uses horticulture to advance the health and well-being of the greater Philadelphia region. PHS programs create healthier living environments, increase access to fresh food, expand access to jobs and economic opportunity and encourage social connections among people. PHS’s work spans 250 neighborhoods; an expansive network of public gardens and landscapes; year-round learning experiences; and the nation’s signature gardening event, the Philadelphia Flower Show.

In 2022, the work of PHS’s programs directly engaged more than 300,000 people in the greater Philadelphia region, with program impacts felt by 1.14 million Philadelphia residents who live within a 5-minute walking distance of a PHS project. Recent projects include serving as lead partner for the development of the City of Philadelphia’s first ever Philly Tree Plan, a 10-year plan to restore tree canopy in Philadelphia’s lowest canopy neighborhoods; and partnering with the University of Pennsylvania to study the effects of nature-based programs to mitigate crime and promote public health outcomes in low-income, BIPOC communities.

The AHS’s 2024 Great American Gardeners Award Committee was chaired by Holly Shimizu, AHS board member and former director of the United States Botanic Garden, based in Glen Echo, Maryland. Members of the committee include Kaifa Anderson-Hall, president, CEO and founder of Plants and Blooms ReImagined in Washington, D.C.; Panayoti Kelaidis, senior curator and director of outreach at Denver Botanic Gardens in Denver, Colorado; Ryan McEnaney, marketing and communications manager at Bailey Nurseries in St. Paul, Minnesota; Kelly D. Norris, an award-winning author, plantsman and landscape designer in Des Moines, Iowa; Nan Sterman, a garden designer, author, botanist and award-winning garden communicator in San Diego, California; and Steven Still, emeritus professor of landscape horticulture at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.