THE BENJAMIN BLACKBURN SCHOLARSHIP LECTURE with Marta McDowell

Saturday 02-03-24 01:00 pm (Eastern)

Location: Haggerty Education Center

FILLED

Speaker Marta McDowell will discuss her new book, Gardening Can Be Murder.

With their deadly plants, razor-sharp shears, shady corners, and ready-made burial sites, gardens make an ideal scene for a murder mystery. Flora and horticulture have had an outsize influence on the genre: motive, means, opportunity, victims, villains, and detectives. Join Marta McDowell, writer, gardener, and avid mystery reader, in exploring the many ways in which writers—from Edgar Allen Poe and Wilkie Collins to Agatha Christie and some of today’s top crime fiction authors—have found inspiration in the sinister side of gardening.

Marta McDowell lives, writes and gardens in Chatham, New Jersey. Her garden writing has appeared in popular publications such as Women’s Day, Country Gardening, The New York Times and she is a regular contributor to the British journal, Hortus. Marta teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden and consults for private clients and public gardens. She was the 2019 recipient of the Garden Club of America’s Sarah Chapman Francis Medal for outstanding literary achievement.

Since 1979, the Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum have supported horticultural education through a scholarship named for Dr. Benjamin Blackburn.

Dr. Blackburn was a professor of Botany at Drew University. His involvement with the Morris County Park Commission began with his friendship with Henry and Robert Tubbs, whose property, Willowwood, eventually became the Willowwood Arboretum. Dr. Blackburn published many articles and wrote a number of books on gardening as well as being the host of a very popular radio gardening program. He generously shared his vast knowledge and deep love for horticulture with many staff members in the Horticulture Division and with his countless fans, members of the Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum and area garden clubs.

Admission fees for this program support the scholarship that is offered to students in the Landscape Technology Program at County College of Morris (CCM). This scholarship allows interested students the opportunity to explore the different horticultural, environmental, and design studies offered through the accredited CCM programs. The increased knowledge the students acquire in the classroom and through hands-on programs at CCM will benefit them as they enter their chosen field in horticulture and landscape design.

This presentation will be followed by a book sale/signing and light refreshments.

This event is generously sponsored by Mendham Capital Management.

Questions about registering? Contact mennist@arboretumfriends.net

Registration for this program will close on Friday, February 2 at 12:00 Noon.

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