Comments from Mr. PGC: Throughout history, many people have made lasting contributions to the world of plants. In these pages, we hope to pay tribute to some of them. Our concentration will be primarily on those who have introduced plants to the gardening world, those who have helped spread the word about gardening and those who have made significant contributions to landscaping and landscaping design around the world.

This list will be constantly growing as we add new names. If you have someone who you think should be on the list, please send us an Email.
 

Born in the French speaking part of Switzerland, Agassiz was educated in the universities of Switzerland and Germany as a physician, like many naturalists of the time. In 1846, Agassiz came to the United States where he accepted a professorship at Harvard. He immediately set about organizing and developing a great museum of natural history. He was a founding member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1863. That same year, he was appointed as a regent for the Smithsonian Institution.

In 1699, he inherited Studley Royal estate in North Yorkshire and designed the famous moon ponds a quarter of a century later. He brought the natural landscape into the garden and surrounded it with large yew hedges.

Arends was a very prolific breeder of perennials and his specialty was the species, Astilbe. He lived in Ronsdorf, Germany and developed over 74 cultivars of the crosses which were given his name, Astilbe x arendsii. Over his long career, he also bred Bergenia, Sedum, Phlox and Campanula.

Dr. Armitage is well known as a writer, speaker and researcher on the topic of herbaceous perennials throughout the world.  He has evaluated garden plants in Montreal, Canada, East Lansing, Michigan and now in Athens, GA where he is a professor at the University of Georgia. He holds his B.S. from MacDonald College, Quebec, M.S. from University of Guelph, Ontario and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University.

Armitage is the author of 10 books. He is best known for his classroom and reference text, Herbaceous Garden Plants.

A world renowned rose breeder and writer, Austin lives in Shropshire, England. His breeding program centers on the Old Garden Roses (Gallicas, Damasks, Alba roses, etc.) with emphasis on repeat blooming and a wide flower color range. That unique breeding program has resulted in his own category of roses called simply, "Austin Roses."

In 2003, David Austin was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honor by the Royal Horticultural Society for his services to horticulture. He has received an Honorary MSc from the University of East London for his work on rose breeding and the lifetime achievement award from the Garden Centre Association in 2004.

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