Growing Together

Grant is an award-winning horticulturist, writer, conservationist, bulb farmer, and seventh-generation East Texan. He is the author of In Greg’s Garden-A Pineywoods Perspective on Gardening, Nature, and Family and Texas Fruit and Vegetable Gardening, and co-author of Heirloom Gardening in the South, Texas Home Landscaping, The Southern Heirloom Garden, and The Rose Rustlers. He also writes the popular “In Greg’s Garden” column for Texas Gardener magazine, a weekly garden column in the Tyler Morning Telegraph, and a monthly “Greg’s Ramblings” blog. His real job, however, is the Smith County horticulturist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, where he coordinates the Smith County Master Gardener volunteer program and directs the Tyler Botanical Garden.

Greg has introduced many successful plants to the nursery industry including dwarf pink Mexican petunia, Gold Star esperanza, Laura Bush petunia, John Fanick phlox, Stars and Stripes pentas, Pam’s Pink honeysuckle, Lecompte vitex, Henry and Augusta Duelberg sages, Big Momma and Pam Puryear Turk’s Cap, Peppermint Flare hibiscus, and the Marie Daly and Nacogdoches (Grandma’s Yellow) roses.

UTA Professor of Landscape Architecture David D. Hopman will be the second presenter in CCMGA's 2024 Summer Speakers Series. Professor Hopman designed and implemented the first extensive green roof in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in 2008 above the Life Sciences Building at UT-Arlington. He was in charge of the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) certification for The Green at College Park on the UT-Arlington Campus; one of the first three projects worldwide to receive certification in February of 2012. Landscape architecture practice experience includes Kings Creek Landscaping, Huitt-Zollars, Inc., RTKL, Mesa Design Group, Inc., and a current independent practice. Recent projects include green roof design for Forest Park Medical Center (with David C. Baldwin, Inc.), the Plano Environmental Education Center landscape (with David Rietzsch and Associates), and consultation on the planting design for the Bush Presidential Library in Dallas (with Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates). Professor Hopman advocates for using aesthetically qualified native polycultures of plants in planting design.

Professor Hopman is the author of the forthcoming book, Creative Regional Design: Renewing the Aesthetics of Landscape in Environmental Design and Planning.

World famous gardener Fergus Garrett will discuss lessons learned from a biodiversity audit of Great Dixter House and Gardens and share how gardens made to please people also can play a significant role in supporting regional biodiversity efforts. Due to the complexity of the subject and a high number of anticipated audience questions, this event may run slightly longer than our stated time.

Garrett is head gardener and CEO of Great Dixter House and Gardens. Great Dixter was the home of Christopher Lloyd, one of the most celebrated garden writers and gardeners in modern times. Fergus worked closely with Christo until Lloyd’s death in 2006. Fergus combines his full-time, hands-on gardening role at Dixter with writing and lecturing worldwide. He is known for inspiring and training the head gardeners of the future in the art and craft of gardening. He received his degree in horticulture from Wye College. He has authored and co-authored several books. He is a contributing editor of Gardens Illustrated Magazine. He was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society in 2015 and in 2019, the coveted Victoria Medal of Honour.