Lecture Series
Roots & Remembrance: Reclaiming Plant Knowledge & Cultural Heritage
Sunday, October 12 • 3 pm – 4:30 pm
In-Person Registration: $25 (Members) • $30 (Non-members)
Virtual Registration: $25
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VIRTUAL REGISTRATION →
Join Abra Lee, Tracy Qiu, and Guina Hammond for an engaging conversation exploring ancestral plant knowledge, forgotten traditions, and the cultural stories rooted in the natural world. Through personal narratives and shared wisdom, they’ll illuminate how plants carry memory, identity, and healing across generations. This event invites us to reconnect with the land, honor lost legacies, and rediscover the deep relationships between people and plants that have shaped our histories and can guide our futures. This in-person event will take place at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens. A livestream of the conversation will be available via Zoom.
Abra Lee is the Director of Horticulture at the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to her role as a public horticulturist, Abra is a historian, writer, and author of the forthcoming book, “Conquer the Soil: Black America and the Untold Stories of Our Country’s Gardeners, Farmers, and Growers.” Her research focuses on Black garden history, and she raises awareness of Black gardeners and farmers, helping to put them into their rightful places in the overall history of American gardening and horticulture.
Guina Hammond is the Program Manager of Public Gardens and Landscapes at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, where she uses gardening as a tool for social change, bringing people together to connect with nature’s beauty and healing power. A certified organic land care professional, PHS Tree Tender, Penn State Master Gardener, and 5th generation herbalist, Guina is deeply involved in Philadelphia’s community. She is a founding member of the Chester Avenue Community Garden, where she has grown award-winning produce for 38 years. She is also a planning team member for the Mid-Atlantic Woody & Perennial Plant Conferences.
Tracy Qiu is a post-doctoral researcher at Concordia University in Montreal, specializing in the colonial history of botanical gardens and their roles in contemporary society. With over a decade of experience as a researcher, consultant, and artist, she applies decolonizing and inclusion-focused practices to help public gardens address issues of racial diversity, colonial legacies, and community belonging. Tracy is a former Longwood Graduate Fellow and has worked with Niagara Parks and the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. Her interdisciplinary approach combines qualitative research, visual art, and horticulture to explore how gardens can reconcile their colonial pasts while fostering inclusive futures.
The Essential Guide to Bulbs:
Book Talk & Signing
Jenny Rose Carey, Renowned gardener, educator, historian, and author
Wednesday, October 29 • 4 – 5:30 pm
Members: $30 • Non-members: $35
Book add-on: $29.99
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Join Jenny Rose for a talk based on her newest book, The Essential Guide to Bulbs. For any gardener who wants to grow bulbs in the garden or containers, Jenny shares her insights through her gorgeously photographed, comprehensive and inviting resource.
You will learn that, while many gardeners may be familiar with the early show of spring bulbs like daffodils and tulips or the late show of gladiolus, there are so many more bulbs to choose from that provide three-season color, drama, and spontaneity in the garden.
Jenny Rose has been lecturing nationally and internationally for many years. She previously worked at Temple University for over a decade, first as an adjunct professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and then as director of the Ambler Arboretum. Most recently, she served as Senior Director of Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Meadowbrook Farm. She is an avid hands-on gardener who has gardened in both England and the United States. Her Victorian property, Northview, in Ambler, PA contains diverse garden spaces, including a cutting garden, an herb garden, a dry garden, and various mixed flower beds. Jenny Rose and her gardens have been featured on the PBS series The Victory Garden, in the Wall Street Journal, the Philadelphia Inquirer, GROW magazine, and The Pennsylvania Gardener. She is co-author with Mary Anne Fry of A Century of Cultivation, the author and photographer for Glorious Shade (Timber Press 2017), and The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Guide (Timber Press 2022).
A limited number of books will be available for purchase. Participants who want to ensure they can purchase a book for signing at this event are encouraged to pre-order a copy here. Please select the appropriate participant price, and also select "Book add-on” during registration.
Stories of Resistance: An Evening of Storytelling with the Lenape Nation of PA
A Partnership with the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, Woodmere, and the Morris Arboretum & Gardens
Thursday, November 20 • 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Members: $20 • Non-members: $25
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In honor of Native American Heritage Month, you are invited to join the Morris Arboretum & Gardens and Woodmere Art Museum for an evening welcoming Indigenous voices with “Stories of Resistance” from the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. Attendees will hear stories of Lenape history, language, culture, and horticultural wisdom, and will be treated to drumming and singing by the Stone Dog Drum.
The program will take place at Woodmere, 9201 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118.
Endowed Lectures
An annual series of lectures held from late fall to early spring that explore a wide variety of fascinating topics. Lectures are supported in part by the Klein Lecture Endowment given in memory of Dr. William M. Klein who served from 1977-1990 as the Arboretum’s first full-time director, the Laura L. Barnes Lecture Endowment of The Philadelphia Foundation, given in memory of Laura Barnes by students and alumni of her school of horticulture, and the Byron Lukens Lecture Endowment, given in memory of educator and Arboretum volunteer, Byron Lukens and his wife Elizabeth.