Thank you to the following supporters who have made Hortication® possible:
Todd Beasley is an experienced curator of plant life, horticultural exhibitions, and educational leadership. He earned his Doctorate in Education with a specialization in Curriculum and Instruction, and holds a Masters in Earth and Environmental Resources Management.
Todd has served as faculty with Midlands Technical College, Heathwood Hall, and the University of South Carolina’s College of Education. He has received recognition for developing various environmental education programs for schools and academic centers. Todd wrote the proposal to bring the American Horticultural Society’s National Children and Youth Gardening Symposium to Columbia, SC in 2016, and co-wrote the proposal to bring the same symposium to Knoxville, TN in 2023.
In 2017, Todd was recruited to serve as the Director of Programs at the San Antonio Botanical Garden followed by almost two years at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden as Director of Horticulture & Facilities.
Growing up in North Augusta, SC, Todd Beasley often visited the nursery of one of the country’s premier plant collector and nurseryman (Ted Stephens & Nurseries Caroliniana). Through Ted he developed a love for horticulture, which blossomed into a lifelong career. Todd first joined Jarrett’s Jungle, a tropical plant garden center in 1996 and later joined Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden as nursery and production manager.
Todd eventually began his own garden consulting firm Primitive By Design. Primitive By Design serves public gardens through project management, as well as analysis and strategic planning for horticultural exhibits, educational programming, and events departments. Its garden design office serves residential clients. For one of his most notable clients – Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Charlotte, NC – Todd managed a million-dollar perennial garden restoration. Today, Todd has again found an intersection of horticulture and education in a new role as the Director of the Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern University.
As a result of recent reflections on his skills and experiences within horticulture and education, Todd thought it time to bring a dream to reality. And thus, Hortication® was born. A series of traveling exhibits designed to attract diverse audiences to local gardens across the country, showcasing the bio-cultural connects of the roles plants play in different facets of society and culture.