Abra Lee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1978 Atlanta |
| Alma mater | Auburn University |
| Occupation(s) | Historian; public horticulturalist |
| Awards | 2019-20 Longwood Fellow |
| Website | https://conquerthesoil.com/ |
Abra Lee (born 1978 [1] ) is an American public horticulturalist, historian and writer, who researches Black garden history and raises awareness of the subject through social media.
Lee graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture. [2] She has worked in a number of horticultural roles, including: with the University of Georgia as a County Extension Agent for Fulton County; [2] [3] as Landscape Manager for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; [4] as a horticulturalist at George Bush Intercontinental Airport; [2] as a municipal arborist at City of Atlanta Department of Parks. [5]
As of 2021, Lee worked as a freelance horticultural writer and lecturer, for institutions such as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centre, Temple University, Smithsonian Gardens, and others. [6] [7] [4] [8] [9] Her work seeks to break down the barriers that prevent black people participating in horticulture. [10] She does this through researching and highlighting the lives of Black women in horticulture, from antebellum history to the present day. [8] Lee says that the "beautiful thing about Black garden history is that it can't be separated from Black history and it can't be separated from American history". [8] She founded the social media platform Conquer the Soil, which raises horticultural awareness through Black garden history and current events. [11]
Lee was selected a 2019-20 Longwood Gardens Fellow. [12] [11] As part of her fellowship she travelled to Château de Villandry where she researched lesser known histories of the garden, as well as supporting a curatorial project which compared the lives of Ann Coleman Carvallo at Château Villandry and Anne Spencer of Lynchburg. [13] Her first book Conquer the Soil: Black America and the Untold Stories of Our Country's Gardeners, Farmers, and Growers is due to be published in 2022 by Indigo Books. [14] [15] [16]
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
Horticulture is the art and science of growing plants. This definition is seen in its etymology, which is derived from the Latin words hortus, which means "garden" and cultura which means "to cultivate". There are various divisions of horticulture because plants are grown for a variety of purposes. These divisions include, but are not limited to: gardening, plant production/propagation, arboriculture, landscaping, floriculture and turf maintenance. For each of these, there are various professions, aspects, tools used and associated challenges; Each requiring highly specialized skills and knowledge of the horticulturist.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to organic gardening and farming:
Longwood Gardens is a public garden that consists of more than 1,100 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in the Brandywine Creek Valley in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of the premier horticultural display gardens in the United States and is open to visitors year-round to enjoy native and exotic plants and horticulture, events and performances, seasonal and themed attractions, as well as educational lectures, courses, and workshops.
Seed companies produce and sell seeds for flowers, fruits and vegetables to commercial growers and amateur gardeners. The production of seed is a multibillion-dollar global business, which uses growing facilities and growing locations worldwide. While most of the seed is produced by large specialist growers, large amounts are also produced by small growers who produce only one to a few crop types. The larger companies supply seed both to commercial resellers and wholesalers. The resellers and wholesalers sell to vegetable and fruit growers, and to companies who package seed into packets and sell them on to the amateur gardener.
Organic horticulture is the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants by following the essential principles of organic agriculture in soil building and conservation, pest management, and heirloom variety preservation.
Baptisia australis, commonly known as blue wild indigo or blue false indigo, is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legumes). It is a perennial herb native to much of central and eastern North America and is particularly common in the Midwest, but it has also been introduced well beyond its natural range. Naturally it can be found growing wild at the borders of woods, along streams or in open meadows. It often has difficulty seeding itself in its native areas due to parasitic weevils that enter the seed pods, making the number of viable seeds very low. The plant has low toxicity levels for humans.
Armeria maritima, the thrift, sea thrift or sea pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a compact evergreen perennial which grows in low clumps and sends up long stems that support globes of bright pink flowers. In some cases purple, white or red flowers also occur. It is a popular garden flower and has been distributed worldwide as a garden and cut flower. It does well in gardens designed as xeriscapes or rock gardens. The Latin specific epithet maritima means pertaining to the sea or coastal.
Frangula californica is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family native to western North America. It produces edible fruits and seeds. It is commonly known as California coffeeberry and California buckthorn.
Vaccinium angustifolium, commonly known as the wild lowbush blueberry, is a species of blueberry native to eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States. It is the most common commercially used wild blueberry and is considered the "low sweet" berry.
Vaccinium corymbosum, the northern highbush blueberry, is a North American species of blueberry. Other common names include blue huckleberry, tall huckleberry, swamp huckleberry, high blueberry, and swamp blueberry.
The American elm cultivar Ulmus americana 'Augustine', originally called 'Augustine Ascending', was cloned by Archie M. Augustine of the Augustine Nursery of Bloomington, Illinois, from a nursery seedling planted in 1927 in Normal, Illinois, and found to be columnar in habit.
The Genesee Farmer or Genesee Farmer was a very early periodical founded by Luther Tucker in 1831 in Rochester, New York. It was devoted to agriculture and horticulture as well as the domestic and rural economy.
Foodscaping is a modern term for integrating edible plants into ornamental landscapes. It is also referred to as edible landscaping and has been described as a crossbreed between landscaping and farming. As an ideology, foodscaping aims to show that edible plants are not only consumable but can also be appreciated for their aesthetic qualities. Foodscaping spaces are seen as multi-functional landscapes that are visually attractive and also provide edible returns. Foodscaping is a method of providing fresh food affordably and sustainably.
Lester Gertrude Ellen Rowntree (1879–1979), a renowned field botanist and horticulturalist, was a pioneer in the study, propagation, and conservation of California native plants. In numerous journal and magazine articles, books, and public lectures, she shared her extensive knowledge of wildflowers and shrubs while arguing tirelessly for their protection.
The Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women was one of the first horticultural schools to be established by and for women in the United States, opening on February 10, 1911. As the second institution to provide women with a practical education in horticulture and landscape architecture, it made possible their entry into a professional field. Although some men were employed in faculty positions, the school's leadership was intentionally female. As of 1919, the board of trustees consisted of twenty-five prominent women citizens. All but the last director of the school were women.
Charles Howard Shinn (1852–1924) was a horticulturalist, author, inspector of California Experiment Stations, and forest ranger in California.
Fannie Mahood Heath was an American gardener who discovered methods for growing imported flowers. She created flower and fruit cultivars and corresponded and collaborated with academics. She was a founding member and vice-president of the National Horticultural Society and her garden would attract 100 visitors a week.
Jamila Norman is a first generation American, born in New York to Caribbean parents. She grew up in Queens, New York, then eventually moved, with her family, to Connecticut, and finally to Georgia. Her mother grew up on a family farm in Jamaica, and her father is from Trinidad. She earned a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Georgia. She is a mother and currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia.