2026 Fall Horticulture Forum
Set up your garden for success and get insight and inspiration from three leading experts in a half-day forum at Newfields. Jenny Carey, author of Essential Guide to Bulbs will give you tips and tricks on how to bring beautiful bulbs to gardens, porches, and entryways. Wesley Knapp, CEO of Center for Plant Conservation, will present on the organization’s work to identify and prevent plant extinction in North America. Michelle Catania, Green Industry Outreach Coordinator for Morton Arboretum, will help you learn how to recognize stress in trees and reduce decline.
Light snacks and coffee will be provided.
Advance tickets required
$50 Members & $65 public
JENNY CAREY
Jenny Rose Carey is an avid hands-on gardener and professional horticulturist. Born in England to a family of botanists and gardeners, she grew up in the countryside and designed her first herb garden at age sixteen. She moved with her American husband to the Philadelphia area and has gardened there ever since. Her degrees are in Biology, Horticulture, and Education, so Jenny Rose brings a strong teaching background to her writing and her presentations. Professionally, she has been Director of two public gardens: The Ambler Arboretum of Temple University and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's Garden at Meadowbrook Farm. Jenny is now devoting her time to writing, speaking, and tending her four-and-one-half-acre garden called Northview, where she has lived for over a quarter of a century. Jenny is the author of three best-selling gardening books: "Glorious Shade", "The Ultimate Flower Gardener's Guide", and her latest offering, "The Essential Guide to Bulbs: Grow a Bounty of Beautiful Bulbs in Gardens and Containers" (available to the public in mid-October 2025).
WESLEY KNAPP
Dr. Wesley M. Knapp is a botanist, explorer, and conservation leader whose career has taken him from remote mountain peaks and coastal wetlands to the forefront of efforts to prevent plant extinction. Widely recognized as one of the leading field botanists in eastern North America, he has spent more than two decades searching for rare plants, documenting biodiversity, discovering species new to science, and helping protect some of the continent’s most remarkable landscapes.
Today, Dr. Knapp serves as CEO of the Center for Plant Conservation, the national network dedicated to preventing the extinction of America’s rarest plants. Before joining CPC, he was Chief Botanist at NatureServe, where he helped guide the scientific data, taxonomy, and conservation assessments used to protect rare plant species across the United States and Canada.
Whether discussing newly discovered species, ancient plant lineages, or the future of conservation, Dr. Knapp leaves audiences with a renewed sense of wonder and a deeper appreciation for the plants that make life on Earth possible, and a clearer understanding of what it will take to prevent extinction in the twenty-first century.
MICHELLE CATANIA
Michelle Catania is the green industry outreach coordinator for The Morton Arboretum. Michelle is devoted to disseminating peer-reviewed scientific research aimed at improving tree and soil health in urban and suburban environments. She effectively provides both technical and non-technical talks and workshops to both green industry professionals and curious tree owners to encourage the integration of science-based tree care. Catania holds two degrees from Northern Illinois University; a B.S. in biological sciences with an emphasis in plant science, and a M.S. in geography with an emphasis in forest ecology and pedology. She has held various roles at Morton since she started there in late 2009.
