In the "three sisters" garden at the Penn State Trial Gardens, bean vines twist up cornstalks and squash plants cover the soil. "Early Native American farmers didn't have pesticides and weeders, so they planted corn with beans for support, and squash to crowd out the weeds," says Monika Copper, a senior majoring in horticulture, who designed the garden to teach children about Native American history. Now, with floriculturist Rob Berghage, she's writing lesson plans to help public school teachers recreate the garden with their classes. "A biology teacher could use the garden to teach about plants or a history teacher might use it to teach Native American history," she says. "What's most rewarding is that kids get to see the results of their work, which makes them proud and self-confident about what they can accomplish."

Landscape architect Dan Stearns discusses a planting design with a student. Many landscape contracting majors get to apply what they learn to real-world projects on campus or in the community.

Meanwhile, in a Tyson Building laboratory, sophomore Ann Bond is working with horticultural physiologist Rich Arteca to develop improved methods of propagating hybrid lilies and geraniums. "Some hybrids don't have viable seeds, so they're often reproduced through tissue culture, in which cells are placed on a sterile, gelatinous substance that contains nutrients," Bond explains. For the cells to grow leaves, stems, and roots, someone must move the plant three times through tubes containing different hormones. Bond is developing a technique in which she places a piece of stem tissue in liquid media and adds hormones as needed. "The stems break apart into hundreds of floating embryos, each becoming its own little plant," she says. "It's less labor-intensive than regular tissue culture, and you can grow a lot more plants."

Students in the Department of Horticulture interact with specialists ranging from gene splicers and biochemists to floriculturists and landscape designers, and that range of expertise reflects the variety of job opportunities for graduates. "The green industry is booming," says department head Dennis Decoteau. "Almost 100 percent of our graduates get placed." Joe Ketterer, an alumnus who works as a recruiter for The Brickman Group, Ltd., in Laurel, Maryland, concurs. "When I graduated in 1981, I had to look for a job," he says. "Now my company visits the campus three or four times a year and sponsors scholarships, internships, field trips, and other activities to recruit students."

The department offers majors in general horticulture and landscape contracting. Landscape contracting students learn to design, install, and maintain landscapes. General horticulture students gain the expertise to own and manage greenhouses, market plants, teach, work at garden centers, or breed improved plants. They also might work in the biotechnology or seed industry, public gardens, or become botanical illustrators. "Some students get nontraditional jobs, such as zoo horticulturist, where they make zoos attractive for visitors and design habitats for the animals," says advising center coordinator Paige Thomas. "Others may become certified horticulture therapists, working with senior citizens, the incarcerated, or the mentally or physically challenged."

"Horticulture students can do so many things," says Lauren Springer, who earned her master's degree in horticulture from the college in 1989. Today she is a nationally known garden writer who lectures on garden design and horticulture. Springer has published two books,The Undaunted Garden (Fulcrum Publishing, 1994) and Waterwise Gardening (Burpee American Gardening Series, 1994). She also is contributing editor for Country Living Gardener and Horticulture magazines. "When I moved to Colorado after graduation, people had to work really hard to get anything to grow in that harsh climate," she says. "So I tried growing native plants, like penstemons and eriogonums. I also tried unusual plants from Central Asia, Turkey, and Iran, because they come from similar climates." Once Springer introduced the plants to the public through her books and lectures, nurseries began to grow them. "Central Asia is one of the richest floristic regions in the world, but only two percent of its plants have been discovered," she says. "A horticulture student might even become a plant explorer."

The landscape contracting major, directed by landscape architect Dan Stearns, trains students in the science, art, and business of landscape design, installation, and maintenance. "Students enjoy the landscape contracting major because they immediately see the benefit of what they are learning," says Stearns. Students have designed and installed plantings on campus with the assistance of the Office of Physical Plant, such as the outdoor eating area at Otto's Cafe, a formal garden at the University House, and the tee areas at the University golf course.

"Landscape design isn't just 'painting with plants,'" Stearns says. "We have to know plant science. Will the plant survive in a particular soil or under particular light conditions? Will it grow too large for the location?" Because students need to describe their ideas to clients, they also receive training in communication, hand drawing, and computer-aided design.

Computers enhance other classes as well. In Dave Beattie's flower and foliage systematics class, students study from an on-line database of several thousand annuals and herbaceous perennials. "Early in the semester, we travel to nurseries and gardens to see real plants," Beattie says. "But in November, when the snow's flying, we review them on-line." Students also can request impromptu quizzes from the site to help them study. In horticultural physiologist Charles Heuser's on-line class, "Ornamental Plant Materials," students learn about popular ground covers, shrubs, and small trees. "Students can access the lessons at their convenience from any location, 24 hours a day," says Heuser, who also coordinates the undergraduate horticulture program. "They don't attend lectures anymore--only field trips." Going on-line has allowed Heuser to extend his class to other locations, including Penn State Berks and Penn State Altoona, which won him and ornamental horticulturist Dave Sanford the 1998 Provost's Award for Collaborative Instruction and Curricular Innovations in Teaching.

Each student in the department gets two advisers--Paige Thomas, who works with all the students to help keep them on track academically, and a faculty adviser in their area of interest. Students also benefit from an active internship program, a strong alumni society, and the horticulture club's annual Hort Show in the Ag Arena. The show, which occurs on a football weekend, is created entirely by students. Visitors follow paths through a beautiful indoor garden where students answer questions at various stations.

A college degree means higher salaries and advancement opportunities, but it also helps students to expand their vision. "As a freshman, I sat in class, listening to a discussion on the design for the Korean Memorial in Washington, D.C.," says Chris Kokoskie, who earned a landscape contracting degree in 1993. "I remember thinking, 'Yeah--like it's ever going to mean anything to me.' Then, I graduated and became the foreman on the project." Growing up in central Pennsylvania, Kokoskie says landscaping meant paying the neighbor kid $20 to mow your lawn. Now, as a production manager at Holston Brothers, Inc., in Frederick, Maryland, he's working on a project that incorporates landscaping into the financing when people buy a home. "It's a whole new concept that's really taking off," he says. "If you finance your landscaping over a 30-year period, you can do something a lot more sophisticated."

Mike Baronner, a 1988 graduate who works as head groundskeeper at Penn State Altoona and owns Mountain Laurel Landscaping in Hollidaysburg, says the horticulture degree opened his eyes as well. "Now I know how to make the contacts and connections I need to be a professional, not just at Penn State, but at other colleges and universities. I learned there's always a number I can call with a question where the person on the other end is the best at something in the world. The school loan I just finished paying off was worth every penny."

--Kim Dionis