Hasan Malik's fascination with trees has been a constant for as long as he can remember. With a hand pruners or saw, he readily gave attention to the tree problems he encountered growing up in Northeast Philadelphia. Hasan is an ISA Certified Arborist and has a degree in Civil Engineering from Temple University.

In 2008 Hasan founded Tree Northeast. The nonprofit organization plants street and yard trees throughout Northeast Philadelphia, engaging volunteers and residents by greening the community. To date, the organization has planted over 1000 trees and helps maintain them regularly.

Tree Authority started in 2012 with the goal of providing superior tree care in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Region. The nursery began the following year in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. Hasan and his wife Tasneem continue to expand the nursery, which now stocks over 200 varieties of fruit, shade, and ornamental trees, including a diverse selection of natives.

The Tree Authority's goal is to give trees the best chance to survive in an urban landscape right from the nursery. The nursery uses best practices to grow strong, healthy trees with virtually no girdling roots, no transplant shock, and the trees have visible root flares.

Visiting the Tree Authority in Perkasie Pennsylvania makes evident Hasan's melding of horticulture and engineering. His innovations for container types, staking systems, irrigation techniques, and soil mixes consistently translate into healthy vigorous trees.

Michael Dunn is the founder and president of Preservation Tree and is the Consulting Municipal Arborist for West Chester Borough in Pennsylvania. He is also an Urban Forestry Consultant with LandStudies, a leading environmental firm in Lititz, Pennsylvania. His main area of focus since 2016 has been the integration of the urban forest into urban and regional planning in Southeastern Pennsylvania and beyond.

Steve Goin is the Director of Land and Facilities at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, the largest privately held greenspace in the city of Philadelphia. He graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor of science in wildlife and fisheries with a minor in forest science. He is an ISA Certified Arborist with 19 years of experience managing trees in a variety of settings. He spent over a decade as an Arborist working for Bartlett Tree Experts, servicing residential and commercial properties on Maryland's Eastern Shore, in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, and finally managing the Philadelphia office where he cared for trees along tight city streets and out in the expansive landscapes of the suburbs. It was during this time that he came to know the Schuylkill Center, a 340-acre nature preserve within the city of Philadelphia, protected in perpetuity under a conservation easement. He volunteered his time at the Native Plant Sales where he answered questions about trees.

Aaron Greenberg is the Arboretum Manager for Laurel Hill and West Laurel Cemeteries, where he oversees gardens, grounds, and a collection of over 4,000 trees. He is also the State Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Champion Tree Program which documents the largest trees of each species in the state. Aaron is a Board Certified Master Arborist with the ISA, and Tree Risk Assessment Qualified.

Robert Wells (Bob) is a consulting arborist with 49 years of experience in the arboricultural industry.

He entered the tree world as a climber with Bartlett Tree Experts in 1971 in Piscataway NJ.

In 1973 he started the firm of Wells Tree & Landscape in Princeton NJ which is now in its 47th year under the leadership of his son, David Wells.

Bob completed his BS from Rutgers Cook College in Plant Sciences in 1985 and a master’s in environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013. He is an NJ Certified Tree, a Registered Consulting Arborist, and a Board-Certified Master Arborist

In 2007 Bob joined Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania as an Associate Director with the Urban Forestry Consulting Section with Jason Lubar. They focused on both internal and external contracts involving a myriad of tree-related matters including inventory, assessment, and management of the 7,000 campus trees at the University of Pennsylvania. It was during this time that he also helped to form the School of Arboriculture at the Arboretum which brings in outside speakers and offers classes to the greater Philadelphia arboricultural community. He retired on July 1, of this year

Community service has been a big part of Bob’s life and over the years he has served as the Chair of Princeton Township Shade Tree Commission, and President of the Marquand Park Foundation.

Bob is now doing the occasional consulting job for his son with Wells Tree and looks forward to getting a chance to finally read all those books that have been on his bucket list.

For over two decades, Charles King Sadler has immersed himself in the design and care of landscapes throughout North American, this has resulted in his being sought after to work on prestigious public and private properties across North America and being consulted by top landscape practices domestically and from abroad.

Charles began his career as a visual storyteller, in the field of illustration, with a degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology, he applied his artistic vision and talent public and private commissions including contributing newspaper illustrations for publications such as the Los Angeles Times and New York Times. After working in the landscape profession for a period Charles returned to school, SUNY-ESF on the campus of Syracuse University, to pursue master’s studies in Landscape Architecture, and he started his own design firm in order to apply his philosophy of design and horticultural care within the design aesthetic. Charles is an International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborist.

For more information on King Garden, visit kinggardeninc.com

Joan Maloof is a writer, an ecologist, and a conservationist with a unique voice in today’s times. She has studied and worked with plants her entire life; her formal education includes a Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science, a Master’s degree in Environmental Science, and a Doctorate in Ecology. She is a Professor Emeritus at Salisbury University, where she taught Biological Sciences and Environmental Studies. Maloof has published numerous research articles in publications such as Ecology, American Journal of Botany, and the International Journal of Environmental Studies. Maloof’s books include Teaching the Trees (2005), Among the Ancients(2011), Nature’s Temples: The Complex World of Old-Growth Forests (2016), and The Living Forest: A Visual Journey into the Heart of the Woods(2017).

In addition to her research and writing, Maloof founded an organization with the goal of creating a network of protected forests across the US. That organization, the Old-Growth Forest Network, now has thousands of supporters. Maloof travels widely to educate others regarding the extent and condition of our forests and encourages their preservation.

Maria is a 4th generation nurseryman and proud of it! After graduating from Penn State with a BS in Horticulture, she ran the family’s 1000-acre wholesale nursery, destination attraction garden center, and new plant research and development division. She took a new path in 2009 partnering with her father to form UpShoot LLC, a boutique horticultural marketing firm focusing on sales, marketing, and licensing of new plant introductions and gardening-related products. In 2019 Maria partnered with Spring Meadow Nursery to develop the Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Trees program.

Maria is a freelance writer for both green industry trade journals and consumer gardening magazines. In 2015 she released her first book with co-author Pam Bennett titled Garden-Pedia: An A-Z Guide to Gardening Terms. This ASHS award-winning book is going into its second printing. Additionally, she has spoken nationally and internationally on a variety of gardening-related topics.

Maria has pushed the glass greenhouse ceiling becoming the 1stfemale President of the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association and International Ornamental Crabapple Society. She serves as the Vice-President of GardenComm: Garden Communicator’s International. She is also on the ONLA Legislative Committee. Locally she is on the Salvation Army Advisory Board in Painesville, Ohio.

Nancy Buley is Director of Communications for J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co., wholesale tree growers of Boring, Oregon, where she has been “talking trees” for 26 years. A former newspaper reporter and food editor, she graduated in Technical Journalism and Horticulture from Oregon State University. A Lifetime Honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Nancy has earned national recognition for her tree advocacy and stewardship efforts including a decade-plus service on the board of directors of Friends of Trees. A GardenComm (member) and a graduate of the Society of Municipal Arborists’ Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI), Nancy lives and gardens in Boring, beneath an ever-widening canopy of trees.

Andy Schenck, a self-professed plant nerd, is the owner of Sam Brown’s Wholesale Nursery in Malvern, PA where he has worked for 22 years. Andy received a B.S. in Ornamental horticulture from the University of Delaware and is a member of the Plant Selection Committee for the Rare Plant Auction at Longwood Gardens (Delaware Center for Horticulture). Andy’s long-lived passion for the outdoors, nature and gardening inspired his desire for life-long learning and his successful career in horticulture.

John Berryhill is the Landscape Curator for the Botanic Garden of Smith College where he has worked for just over 23 years. In that time, he has served several roles, including wildflower gardener and arborist. He served as the Chief Arborist there for 15 years and has transformed the care of Smith’s arboretum from an external, contracted operation to an internal one with a team of three certified arborists.

This week, John talks about risk assessment on Smith College's campus.

Patrick Joyce is the Nursery Manager at Longwood Gardens. He oversees the woody plant production and procurement for the Gardens. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture from West Virginia University and has been working in the Nursery Industry for over 11 years. When he isn’t working with plants he enjoys traveling, the outdoors, and being with his family.

Christopher Uhland is the Head Arborist and Owner of Harmony Hill Nursery, LLC a field production woody plant nursery in Downingtown, Chester County, PA.  He enjoys the challenge of growing trees and shrubs as well as becoming an expert on all things tree-related from propagation, production, planting, to management in the landscape.  His other areas of expertise relate to Arboriculture as he is an ISA Certified Arborist, Register Consulting Arborist, and Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturalist. Christopher has been a keynote speaker at local and regional events such as the CENTS conference in Columbus, Ohio, National Nursery Growers Business Coalition, and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Green Industry Conference at Delaware Valley University. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in Ornamental Horticulture with minors in Environmental Science and Secondary Education from Delaware Valley University, and a master’s Certificate in Agriculture Business from Virginia Polytech in conjunction with Farm Credit.

Paul Meyer is the retired F. Otto Haas Executive Director of the Morris Arboretum. During his 43-year tenure at the Arboretum (28 years as Director), Paul played a major role in the Arboretum’s restoration of its historic gardens, architecture, and vistas with notable plant collections. He has taught Urban Horticulture at the University of Pennsylvania’s Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Department and is a frequent contributor to horticultural publications.

Paul is a leader in the field of plant exploration and evaluation. He completed twelve expeditions to countries including China, Korea, Taiwan, Armenia, and the Republic of Georgia, where he collected plants from various sources to introduce greater genetic diversity.

The beautiful tree-lined streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin first influenced Julianne Schieffer to make trees and forests her life’s passion. Armed with Urban Forestry and Botany degrees from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, and an MS in Tree Pathology from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, she came to Pennsylvania over 30 years ago to work with people and trees. Her current position as Penn State Extension Urban Forester allows her to promote sound tree and forestry practices for communities in the 10 counties of southeastern Pennsylvania. She is a Board Certified Master Arborist, Life Member of the International Society of Arboriculture, Certified Municipal Arborist, and is Tree Risk Assessment Qualified.

Jennifer Walker is the Head Gardener at the Barnes Foundation at Saint Joseph’s University. She enjoys the challenge of managing and growing the tree canopy and other flora of this historic arboretum, as well as being engaged in the life of the university through student engagement and collaboration with faculty and staff. Her other professional areas of expertise include environmental management and civic engagement with specific attention to the effects and presence of structural inequality, community conflict, and stakeholder development. Jennifer has authored numerous publications including a manual for the EPA on vacant lot re-greening in the Rust Belt and completed landscape design and management plans in communities ranging from Akim Oda, Ghana to a coastal marine lab in rural Georgia. Ms. Walker holds a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Horticulture from North Carolina State University, and a master’s in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia.

John Berryhill is the Landscape Curator for the Botanic Garden of Smith College where he has worked for over 23 years. During that time, he has served several roles, including wildflower gardener and arborist. He served as Smith’s Chief Arborist for 15 years and has transformed the care of Smith’s arboretum from an external, contracted operation to an internal one with a team of three certified arborists.

Louise Clarke is a senior horticulturist employed by the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania. She is the horticultural director of Bloomfield Farm, where she curates a woody plant collection that includes more than 1200 trees and shrubs on 67 acres. Louise also tends over 5,000 square feet of vegetated roofs.

Louise Clarke is a senior horticulturist employed by the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania. She is the horticultural director of Bloomfield Farm, where she curates a woody plant collection that includes more than 1200 trees and shrubs on 67 acres. Louise also tends over 5,000 square feet of vegetated roofs.

Kathy Jentz is Editor, Publisher, and Founder of Washington Gardener Magazine which is published specifically for the local metro area of Washington D.C. and its suburbs. The premier issue of the magazine was released in March/April 2005 and this year, celebrating its 15th year in publication.

The content of the magazine gives real examples that you can use directly in your garden while showing how to stretch garden resources. The articles are peppered with whimsy, with a good sense of humor and wonderment.

In this segment, Kathy will be talking about some of her favorite small trees for urban areas.