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CASNR » Careers » Degrees at Work » Public Horticulture


Public Horticulture . . .

Photos of student in the Public Horticulture program

 

 

What is Public Horticulture?

Suppose you enjoy working with plants, and equally enjoy working with people and inspiring their use and enjoyment of plants. Do you also like photography, writing, public speaking and teaching others? If so, Public Horticulture would be a good career fit for you. Public Horticulture is the social or people aspect of horticulture, which is the science and art of cultivating ornamental plants, fruits, vegetables and creating gardens.

Gardening continues to be one of the top leisure activities among Americans, and as a result, there is an incredible demand for horticultural information and education. There have never been as many print media, television and radio gardening programs, or public gardens as there are today. In fact, each year botanical gardens and zoos enjoy more visitors than the combined annual attendance at sporting events in this country (Public Garden Journal, Vol. 21, 2006). Public horticulturists are the people who write gardening books and magazine articles, host gardening radio or television shows, and coordinate educational programs at botanical gardens or Master Gardener programs through the Extension service. Public horticulturists also manage public gardens, parks and greenways, and they ensure that our nation is conserving plants through managed plant collections and plant exploration research all over the world.

 

The Public Horticulture concentration

Public horticulturists are knowledgeable in horticulture and plant sciences, and are equally strong in writing, speaking, photography, teaching and working with people. In addition to horticultural education and skills, the Public Horticulture concentration fosters the following expertise in students as they prepare for professional positions:

  • Communication
  • Program planning
  • People-plant relationships (environmental impact—human impact)
  • Operation of non-profit organizations
  • Personnel management
  • Information sciences
  • Human development
  • Public relations

 

Job titles of recent Public Horticulture graduates:

  • Director or assistant director of botanical garden, arboretum or butterfly conservatory
  • Interpretive horticulturists; education director
  • City, zoo, campus or cemetery horticulturist
  • Teacher, instructor, professor, educator
  • Extension agent or specialist; community garden organizer
  • Urban forester; curator for historical homes and grounds
  • Estate gardener; collections horticulturist
  • Garden writer, editor, publication manager, Internet specialist
  • Manager of children's gardens
  • Horticultural therapist at hospital, therapy center or nursing home
  • City, park or theme park horticulturist

 

What student activities are available to Public Horticulture students?

A variety of student activities is available on campus, ranging from intramural sports to student branches of professional horticulture societies. Each year, both the departmental Horticulture Club and our student branch of the national Horticulture Honor Society (Pi Alpha Xi) are involved in community gardening and campus beautification projects, field trips, professional conferences and competitions. Many of our Public Horticulture undergraduate students play integral roles in the UT Gardens, in everything from designing and planting garden beds to leading guided garden tours to writing interpretive garden literature.

 

 

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Contact Us. . .

Department of Food Science and Technology
2509 River Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-4539
Phone: (865) 974-7331 or toll free at 1-800-974-8809
Fax: (865) 974-7332
Email: foodsci@utk.edu
Web: http://foodscience.utk.edu

The College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
2621 Morgan Circle
125 Morgan Hall
Knoxville, TN 37996
Phone: (865) 974-7303
Fax: (865) 974-9329
Email: casnr@utk.edu