John Michael Kohler Arts Center Garden Walk w/Ray Rogers, Garden Scientist-in-Residence

Program Type:

Lecture

Age Group:

Adult, Teen
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Registration for this event is no longer open.
Allowed Ages: 14 and up

Event Details

John Michael Kohler Arts Center Garden Walk
Explore the beautiful gardens surrounding the John Michael Kohler Arts Center on this guided tour led by Ray Rogers, Garden Scientist-in-Residence at Mead Library's Imaginarium.

Join horticulturalist, author and instructor Ray Rogers for local garden walks, lectures, seed experiments and hands-on projects throughout July & August as part of the Imaginarium's 2019 Garden Scientist-in-Residence program. Read more about Ray.

This residency is funded by a MilliporeSigma science grant.


Garden Talks & Garden Walks Schedule 
Registration required for all garden walks (coming soon)

Held Mondays from 6-7 p.m.

  • July 8: Living with Seeds (Talk)
  • July 15: John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Walk)
  • July 22: Lots of Pots (Talk)
  • July 29: Bookworm Gardens (Walk)
  • Aug. 5: Sensational Container Plants (Talk)
  • Aug. 12: Calvary Cemetery (Walk)
  • Aug. 19: Cacti & Succulents Fallacies and Facts (Talk) 
  • Aug. 26: Bookworm Gardens (Walk)


Seed Experiments & Projects
Ray will be conducting seed growth experiments in the Imaginarium and on each side of the second-floor. Hourly tours will be given on Wednesdays at 4, 5 and 6 p.m. There will also be hands-on project work and other activities with help from Étude's Maker Break.

About Ray Rogers
A lifelong gardener, Ray Rogers held a trowel before he learned to walk and his passion for plants has inspired Ray throughout his career. His diverse background encompasses a variety of horticulture-related positions, including several at public gardens as well as gardening editor, author, speaker, and most recently instructor. To say that Ray is enthusiastic about plants is an understatement.

Ray Rogers has pursued an extensive horticultural career. Here are some highlights. 

Ray authored three gardening books published by Timber Press:The Encyclopedia of Container Plants: More than 500 Outstanding Choices for Gardeners (2010)Coleus: Rainbow Foliage for Containers and Gardens (2008)Pots in the Garden: Expert Design and Planting Techniques (2007). He also coauthored The Philadelphia Flower Show: Celebrating 175 Years (Harper Resource 2003), wrote for many gardening books and magazines, and was interviewed frequently for book reviews and articles.

Ray was an instructor for eight college-level courses in Sustainable Landscape Horticulture at Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland, Wisconsin. He also managed their 30’ x 60’ greenhouse and served as Steward for the Old Growth Forest (a State Natural Area on campus). Ray taught woody plant materials courses for the Barnes Arboretum Foundation School of Horticulture in Merion, Pennsylvania and for the George Washington University Landscape Design Program conducted at the US National Arboretum.           

Ray served as an independent contractor at Atlock Farm in Somerset, New Jersey, an eclectic specialty nursery.

Ray edited and Americanized many books on gardening and other topics at Dorling Kindersley Publishing in New York City, most notable of which was the very well-received American Horticultural Society A – Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants.

Ray supervised the permanent and seasonal staff at two public gardens under the direction of the Somerset County Park Commission in Central New Jersey.During his time as the Education Supervisor/ Horticulturist for the American Horticultural Society in Alexandria, Virginia, Ray coordinated several national and local educational and horticultural programs.

As Curatorial Intern and then Curatorial Assistant at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Ray participated in a wide range of functions necessary for the operation of a major public garden.

Since 1973, Ray has made thousands of entries at flower shows, from local plant-society events and county fairs to the Philadelphia Flower Show, in which he successfully exhibited from 1990 – 2012.

Ray began his career maintaining and improving the restored landscapes surrounding Woodlawn Plantation and the Pope-Leighey House, both period houses in Alexandria, Virginia, owned and managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

As a member of the Town and Country Garden Club, a member club of the Garden Club of America, Ray serves on several horticulture-related committees and has also been an award-winning exhibitor at several GCA flower shows.

Ray Rogers appeared on a number of radio and television programs, including twice on Martha Stewart Living; Connecticut Public Television; WHYY Radio (Wilmington/Philadelphia); various media in Somerset County, New Jersey, the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and Madison, Wisconsin; and was interviewed for a Fine Gardening magazine podcast.

 Read more about Ray.