Add Photo to Journal
|
|
| Photo Credit: Lee Ivy |
| In addition to his many teaching accomplishments, Bryce and his wife Sue have shared the most impressive one together: 30 years of marriage. |
I think most of us remember writing the infamous “My Hero” essay in the first grade. If I recall correctly, about ¾ of my class – myself included – wrote about Mom. Even now, my mom still makes the top of my list. But when it comes to “Gardening Hero,” I’ve got a different chart-topper: Not only does Bryce Lane win my vote as a gardening hero, he wins my heart as my dad – and he continues to influence my life both in and out of the garden.
Although Bryce has been teaching horticulture for nearly three decades, his passion for plants really started when he was a boy. He recalls lying in the snow underneath white pine trees in western Massachusetts, listening in wonderment as the wind blew through the needles. He jokes that the joy of that moment back then wasn’t spoiled by the facts he now knows about plants. (Today it’s hard for him to look at a white pine without thinking, “white pine, Pinus strobus, five needles per fascicle, white stripe down needle…”) But lying in the snow didn’t last long for Bryce. As his teenage years approached, it was time to get a job. Since his options were either fast food or pal around with plants, he opted for working at Hadley Garden Center in Hadley, MA. Working his way up from “car loader” to “nursery sales” were just some of his “growing” accomplishments back in his garden center glory days. With a passion for plants and a little encouragement from a college professor, Bryce ended up pursuing his love of horticulture. He majored in the subject at the University of Massachusetts and earned his BS, then attended The Ohio State University for an MS in ornamental horticulture. With new degree, his wife Sue and daughter (yours truly) in tow, Bryce left Ohio and headed south for North Carolina State University. In his 27 years of teaching at NCSU, Bryce’s accolades as an award-winning instructor and undergraduate teaching coordinator are impressive and well deserved. He truly has the unique ability to communicate his love for plants with contagious enthusiasm. (Both horticulture majors and nonmajors alike would agree.) I’ve even experienced his enthusiastic teaching style firsthand: As a horticulture student at NCSU, I had the pleasure (and challenge) of being in his class. (Let’s just say we both made it through with minimal casualties!) In addition to teaching at the university, Bryce also hosts a gardening program called “In the Garden with Bryce Lane,” which airs on UNC-TV. (Although the show may be taken as a 1- credit-hour course through distance education, my son only knows that “Poppy’s on television” Saturday mornings!)
|