Peter Zale's days are spent thinking about all things related to plant collections, exploration, conservation, and breeding, in his position at Longwood Gardens. As he describes it, "I had always longed for a garden and plant collection of my own. As a teenager interested in plants, I was inspired by famous nurseries and seed sellers of the time like Heronswood Nursery, Jim and Jenny Archibald, and more.Not only were they successful professional horticulturists where rare plants and seeds could be purchased, but they also tended world class gardens as a labor of love and as a way to stay directly connected with the plants. After finishing graduate school and moving to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania in 2015, there was finally a chance to establish a garden and plant collection of my own. Since that time, I have transformed my sloping, half-acre lot into diverse gardens that include a small greenhouse to support collections of geophytes and seed propagation, a recently finished crevice garden, an extensive woodland garden, and much more. I will discuss the creation of my garden, the plants collections I focus on, some anecdotes about the joys and frustrations of gardening in USDA hardiness zone 6b, and future plans for new garden spaces and botanical interests."
