Blake Connell

Today in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Blake Connell, of BYU-Idaho Buldings and Grounds. Blake was among the second graduating class in horticulture at Ricks College--consisting of only fifteen students, and he shared with us the details of his career, having owned four businesses, which includes two landscape businesses.

Blake has over 30 years of experience installing and maintaining beautiful natural-looking landscapes. He has been installing water features since 2004 exclusively using Aquascape, Inc. quality products. In 2007 Lawns. Ponds & Lights became a Certified Aquascape Contractor, one of about 300 Certified Contractors in the United States.

Before Blake came to work at BYU-Idaho, he was doing landscaping work in the Idaho Falls and Jackson, WY areas. He still does pond work in his free time, and you can find his blog at http://www.lawns-ponds-lights.blogspot.com/, which includes Blake's contact information.

Winter Closing Social

Each Winter Semester, the Horticulture department has a closing social and awards banquet. Here are a few highlights from this years festivities.

Some of the hopeful graduates:




Just a few of the faculty and award recipients:




Those lucky enough to make it through the front of the line:




And the delicious grub.

Indeed, it was a fine evening with good food, great friends, and hearty laughter. Let's make 2009 another great year!

Our Sucessful Alumni

Jared Ricks, a spring 2003 BYU-Idaho graduate, has recently become a Certified Landscape Technician (CLT), and was awarded his Softscape and Hardscape Certificates in September [2008]. As quoted from the January/February 2009 edition of The Taproot, A Publication of the Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association, Jared decided to become a CLT because, "I feel that it is important to continue my education and my prospect for the future . . . Also, I can back up my recommendations and work with this certification." Of the certification program, Jared also remarked that "It helps you understand and be aware of the safety issues you face in the field."

Jared has been working in the industry for eight years, and has been working for The Lawn Company in Treasure Valley for the last five years. His employer paid for his certification. We are happy to see our alumni out in the workforce continuing their education, and congratulate Jared for all his hard work in becoming a CLT!

Rose Bowl Parade

Over the Christmas holiday, Sister Bass and three students, Christa Beaty, Tyanna Jones, and newly graduated Crystal Lyman, spent part of their vacation in sunny southern California. After doing such a great job last summer in Portland decorating a few floats for the Rose Parade, they had been invited to decorate a float for the Rose Bowl Parade on New Years Day.

This is what the float looked like when they arried. All the prep work had been done, as far as gluing seeds and such to it, but all of the floral elements had to be designed, secured, and it all had to have unity as an entire design.

A large portion of the flowers used were tropicals and roses, which created some pokey situations for those designing. Aside from occasionally cutting their thumbs with knifes, their hands and arms came in close contact with thorns and jagged leaves.

According to the Rose Parade website, the theme for the float the ladies worked on, "reflects NAMM's [The International Music Products Association] efforts to promote the fun and benefits of music making for people of all ages, especially children and young people who need music education opportunities in school . . . [the] theme builds on "Hats Off To Entertainment" with emphasis on music making and music education. NAMM actively supports and promotes the benefits and importance of music making for people of all ages; NAMM and it's partners, including Music for All Honor Band, work so that every child can have music education in their schools."

Here's the float nearing it's completion.

The float out on the road!

Tyanna, Crystal, Sister Bass, and Christa.



What an incredible float!


The float was a huge undertaking, and took three days to complete, but it was a great success winning the Presidential Award!

Our Sucessful Alumni

At BYU-Idaho, we are proud of our alumni, and are excited to see where they go and what they do with their education gained here. Recently, we have noticed a couple of our alumni show up in publications.
In The Journal of the Perennial Plant Association, Zachary Lee, who graduated in July 2008, is recognized for receiving a $1000 scholarship at the annual Perennial Plant Symposium and Trade Show on July 22, 2008.
Also, Mike Ethington, who graduated in December 2006, is newly licensed in the irrigation category at Signature Landscape Services, INC., as displayed in the October edition of their newsletter, Seasons.

Masters Students from USU

This week in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from two Masters Program students at Utah State University. First, we heard from Melody Reed, who is earning her Masters of Horticulture in Plant Soils and Climate. She went over information about: advice if you're thinking of going to graduate school, what to look for in a masters program, and suggestions to prepare for graduate school.

Some advice Melody suggested when thinking about graduate school is:

• To decide if grad school is for you, do an internship as a research assistant, since doing research is a large part of grad school.
• Check out the internet for conferences that relate to your desired subject, and go to them.
• Learn to like scientific articles, you'll be reading a lot more once in grad school.

Some things that Melody suggested when looking for a masters program are to:

• Think about if grad school is really for you--if you like school, do it! If you don't like school, maybe you should look into something else.
• Think about your interests, and how you can delve deeper into a particular subject.
• Find a good professor to work with. She suggested getting referrals from your current teachers for potential schools or professors to work with.

Once you've decided you want to go to graduate school, you should:

• Start emailing potential advising professors early, so you get to know them, and they get to know you. Networking is everything.
• Be sure to take enough chemistry and math--especially statistics--so that you'll be prepared for your advanced classes.

Second, we heard from Sherri Jones, a student earning her Masters of Landscape Architecture, which is a first professional degree. Sherri talked about how she got to where she is as a grad student, explained what kind of program she is working with, and that thesis papers can be about almost anything.

Starting out, Sherri talked about how she ended up at USU.

• She majored at BYU-I in Horticulture, with an emphasis in Landscape Design.
• She decided she wanted to look for grad schools that were accredited with ASLA, the American Society of Landscape Architects.
• Decided what kind of plant materials she wanted to work with, geographically. She picked a school in the geographic area that would teach her to use plants that she wanted to work with in the long run.
• Once the schools were narrowed down geographically, she looked at what coursework was available at each school in her program, so she could find an ideal fit for what she wanted to do.

Sherri's program is actually a three year Masters Program, which is unusual because typically, Masters Programs are only two years. During her three years, Sherri's expected load is:

• The first year will be all coursework.
• The second year will be some coursework, and research will begin.
• The third year will be all research, unless additional coursework is needed.

Lastly, Sherri spoke about what kinds of thesis papers her professors and classmates have done, which vary greatly depending on what the student wants to specialize in. Some of these examples are:

• How to reduce criminal behavior in parks
• Recreating pioneer gardens in environmentally friendly ways
• Roof gardens in small space designs
• Optimizing the landscape

Overall, it was a very interesting and informative Seminar, given by two former BYU-I students. Both ladies mentioned that as a grad student you must be very self motivated. Teachers don't hang due dates over your head, or remind you to get assignments done. Most grad students get stipends and assistanceships for their research, which, more or less, make them their own boss. Yes, that's right, you get paid to go to school!

So, if you're thinking about going to graduate school, talk to your professors and see how they can get your feet in the door. Brother Dewey mentioned that when it comes to graduate school, "Horticulture has lots of demand, but not enough supply," your teachers would be happy to help you with looking up possibilities.

Because of scheduling changes, next week we will have a presentation from Chanshare Farms.