Angela Treadwell-Palmer
President of Plants Nouveau
Angela Treadwell-Palmer has a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from the University of Delaware.
My career has spanned almost every aspect of gardening, garden design and teaching folks how to garden with plants – especially natives. I currently own and manage Plants Nouveau, a new plant introduction company based in Baltimore, MD. I travel around the US and Europe searching for new plants to introduce to the US and Canadian markets. I have always had a passion for new plants and selecting the best new plants is what I do best. Plants Nouveau allows me to take everything I’ve learned (the good and the bad) and apply it to introduce plants the way I think they should be introduced. The motto of Plants Nouveau is “Responsible introductions. Sustaining tomorrow’s gardens.” I also like to think of Plants Nouveau as the fashionista of the new plants world. We introduce sustainable fashion for the world to plant!
Before embarking on my own, I managed the staff and development of ½ of the collections at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, DC, as well as their Elite Plant Introduction Program. I also curated the Introduction Garden. I was a perennial buyer/grower for one of the largest retail garden centers on the East Coast, Homestead Gardens/Growers, in Davidsonville, MD. For three years, I managed the Plant Introduction Program for Chicagoland Grows®, Inc. This was the plant introduction program of the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Morton Arboretum. I served an even longer term as the Director of New Products for one of the largest wholesale nurseries on the East Coast, The Conard-Pyle Co. I have also been working with the horticulture staff in Baltimore City to design gardens in public spaces. My most recent design achieved lots of press because it was a 2200 square foot vegetable garden (that’s about twice the size of the one at the White House) in front of City Hall that supplied a local homeless shelter with fresh vegetables and herbs all summer.
When I’m not working way too many hours, I spend time continually re-designing our ½ acre garden in Baltimore city. I enjoy spending time with my husband Drew, son Keegan, my rambunctious daughter Eleanor (Ella) and my two dogs, Scully and Porter – all have been taught to dig holes! I also serve as the conference Director for the annual Native Plants in the Landscape Conference held at Millersville University each June.
My career has taken me around the world. From evaluating the scents of fragrant roses in the south of France to the back woods of West Virginia, I’ve experienced world famous gardens and hiked through remote areas looking for new ideas and exciting plants. And even though my husband is licensed as an attorney who knows very little about plants or gardening, he supports my habit and loves doing manual labor on the weekends.
I love my family, traveling, music, red wine, good beer, vacations on the beach in Mexico and my very soft, cuddly puppy, Frothy Brown Porter (Porter or Po-Po for short) who’s named after a tall, frothy pint of one of my most favorite beverages – especially the German variety, from which he descends.
Happy Weeding,
Angela
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