While the growing season is winding down across the state, it never stops at the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, where Como’s talented team of horticulturists is planning, planting, and prepping all year long. Meet the horticulturists who make it all happen:
Management
Ray: The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s curator, Ray came to Como with a layered conservation background, with roles in education and youth engagement, agriculture and landscape design, and genomic research and COVID science.
Bryn: The horticulture supervisor behind all of the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s outdoor gardens and displays, Bryn also works closely with Como Zoo keepers to protect the birds, reptiles, and fish that live in Tropical Encounters, while keeping the jungle vines and plants from taking over.
Deirdre: The Conservatory’s newest arrival, Deirdre is the horticulture supervisor in charge of greenhouse operations. With a background in commercial growing, she’s also the point person for the Conservatory’s Priva system, automated controls that help growers mimic Mother Nature.
Ariel: Horticulture supervisor and flower show designer, Ariel has led Como’s shift from a top‑down flower show model to a deeply collaborative process, cutting waste, stretching the budget, and encouraging more experimentation.
collections
Reva: Como’s resident bonsai guru, Reva has the rare ability to see what a tree will look like in five or ten years, training a single branch on some of Como’s potted trees for years at a time. With specialized training that’s taken her from Portland, Oregon, to Japan, Reva cares for a bonsai collection that’s been named one of the best in the Midwest.
Jen: Showcasing the connections between plants and people is the narrative of Como’s North Garden, an ethnobotanical space that’s critical to many of Como’s education programs. With her background in anthropology and interpretation, Jen is a great ambassador for what makes plants so amazing, helping visitors see when important plants in her collection are about to bloom.
Jess: Japanese garden specialist Jess has been part of the Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden’s stunning transformation, revealing the original intention of Nagasaki landscape architect Masami Matsuda. With a background in garden design, she frames picturesque scenes with precise lines in this treasured corner of Como.
Victoria: Lead horticulturist in the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory’s Fern Room, Victoria is often seen in her hip waders knee-deep in Como’s water gardens, which she also manages. Passionate about public engagement, she promotes gardener talks and conservation projects, including a Como Friends Conservation Champions project that highlighted the beauty and biodiversity of Minnesota’s bogs.
Rylee: A champion of native plants and beneficial bugs, Rylee’s work with Integrated Pest Management has allowed Como to dramatically reduce chemical applications on plants. A passionate proponent of using natives in home gardens, Rylee’s frequent gardener talks are full of great tips!
Bo: Como’s greenhouse gatekeeper, Bo handles thousands of incoming plugs, giving them a preventive dip before they enter production. With big crops that include holiday poinsettias and spring bulbs, Bo also cultivates tiny but mighty collections of Minnesota native species and carnivorous plants.
Isaac: With a strong design eye for color and floral arrangement, Isaac also brings deep experience and positive energy to working with student volunteers, interns, and RightTrack apprentices at the Conservatory.
Alejandro: If you loved Como’s contributions to the Winter Carnival Orchid Show, or the fresh new feel of the Palm Dome, you have Alejandro to thank. Using extra plants to create vivid vignettes, Alejandro is bringing more color to Como’s historic collections, and doesn’t mind breaking tradition, like emptying the Palm Dome’s central fountain to refill it with poinsettias during the holidays.
outdoor
Marie: The designer behind Como’s seasonal Gates Ajar mosaiculture, Marie keeps this century-old Como floriculture tradition looking fresh every summer. In the Minnesota Garden, her work helps drive the move away from monocultures toward more colorful, ecologically rich plantings.
John: Como’s new lily pond specialist, John propagates and cares for Como’s aquatic crops while experimenting with new ways to design in and around the Conservatory’s gorgeous seasonal water gardens.
Jake: Another water garden collaborator, Jake also designed the meadow garden around the Frog Pond, turning a steep, high‑maintenance mowed slope into a wildflower meadow with mown paths and seating spots that frame the best views. Check it out this season!
Robin: Como’s newest outdoor gardener, Robin is learning the full landscape at Como, underscoring the Conservatory’s new strategic approach to sharing knowledge and seeing the whole system, not just one assigned garden or collection.
Horticulture is also super happy to announce that two of our Marjorie McNeely Conservatory team members were recently promoted to new positions. Rylee Werden, a Horticulturist I, has been promoted to a Horticulturist II. In her previous role she has worked in the production spaces of the greenhouse, on seed starting, and designing beautiful Sunken Garden shows, including the current Fall Part 1 Show. Robin Takahashi, formerly an Assistant Gardener who provided exquisite care for spaces like the rooftop gardens, the Skipper Garden, the bird yard planters, and around the Schiller statue, was also promoted to a Horticulturist II position.
