Fellows

A GardenComm Fellow is a member in good standing who has demonstrated exceptionally high degrees of skill, professional ethics and dedication to the objectives of GardenComm. Fellows are nominated by the membership, recommended by the Honors Committee and elected by the Board of Directors. Self-nominations are welcome.

2018 Honorees

Dan Benarcik

A graduate of the University of Delaware with a fresh Bachelor of Science degree in Plant Science, I started working at Mt. Cuba Center. Hired as the Woods Path gardener I developed a real love of native plants, as well as the research and protection of them.

Ready for a new challenge, I went to work as a sales representative for Imperial Nurseries, a large East Coast re-wholesaler of landscape plants. During my time there I began to build a network of horticultural professionals that I still rely on to this day. I realized selling plants didn’t call on my creative skills, certainly my next job would. In 1993, I went to work for Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, PA. The garden was in its infancy then and it’s been amazing to watch it grow. Currently I oversee the Courtyard Gardens with an emphasis on tropical, sub-tropical and tender perennials for seasonal display. My position at Chanticleer affords me the privilege of creating and maintaining our visitors first and last impression of the garden.  With my feet planted firmly in the soil of Chanticleer I was ready to grow. I began a second career as a public speaker. I’m passionate about gardening so it’s a natural progression to want to share that through speaking. At the request of our director Bill Thomas, I joined the Garden Writers Association (GardenComm) in 2005 and have served as Regional Director. Some of my writing has appeared in Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Martha Stewart Living and Rodale's gardening books. The next step was television. I promoted plants on QVC for Cottage Farms Nursery. Additionally, I was featured on episodes of Cultivating Life.

My enthusiasm for design translates into building furniture both for the garden and for our home. This led me to start teaching chair building workshops. People feel so empowered when they walk away from class with a beautiful new chair for their gardens. In my remaining free time, I teach and volunteer. I have been a part of the continuing education program at Longwood Gardens. Other projects nationally have given me experience in assessment of collections, policies and planning. I volunteer for The Delaware Center for Horticulture’s Rare Plant Auction as part of the ?Plant Selection Committee and as a Plant Expert at the event. But mostly I enjoy the garden I share with Peggy Anne Montgomery, our home garden, In Wilmington, Delaware.

Betty Mackey

Betty Mackey, a lifelong gardener, has provided complex garden information in a user-friendly way. A writer and editor, she worked first in publishing, then after marriage as a freelance writer. She was the lead writer of The Gardener’s Home Companion, Macmillan, 1991, and co-author of Cutting Gardens, Simon & Schuster, 1993. She contributed to many other books, but she is most known among GWA (GardenComm) members as a leader in desktop and on-demand publishing. As she learned, she shared with fellow members through talks, Quill & Trowel (On the QT) articles, and membership in our New Technology committee. Many members have said that her efforts gave them the inspiration to try independent publishing for themselves.

In 1986 Betty published her first book, A Cutting Garden for Florida. Later she teamed up with Monica Brandies, a Florida garden writer and GWL member, for an expanded second edition. After it was complete, Monica had the idea for a new book. This time Betty served as designer and editor, and B. B. Mackey Books became a publisher of the work of others, beginning with Florida Gardening: The Newcomers Survival Manual, by Monica Brandies. She went on to publish more books by Monica Brandies, plus authors such as Duane Campbell, Betty Earl, Joyce Fingerut, Rex Murfitt, Nellie Neal, Alex Pankhurst, and Thomas (Tom) Powell. 

Until 2006, the books were prepared digitally but printed in the usual way. If too few, she had to order more at a high price per piece, but if she ordered too many, they were left over. Print-on-demand solved that problem. Quantities can be large or small. The books are done through Ingram/Lightningsource and are for sale worldwide through Ingram, and from www.mackeybooks.com.

Betty taught garden trough making at Longwood Gardens for ten years and is a devoted rock gardener and volunteer. She continues B. B. Mackey Books and gives talks on digital publishing. This includes ways of printing art on consumer products such as clothing, bags, and prints, which she has talked of at a GWA (GardenComm) round table and in numerous lectures.

Peggy Anne Montgomery

Peggy Anne Montgomery is a people-oriented horticultural professional with more than 30 years of U.S. and international experience in trade- and consumer-focused garden marketing and communications, public relations and outreach, landscape design, and public horticulture. She studied horticulture and apprenticed for 4 years in the Netherlands. She raised a family there and owned a landscape design firm for 10 years. Her business specialized in sustainable, eco-friendly landscapes and was the beginning of her life-long interest in nature and the importance of balanced ecosystems. She has an extensive background in public relations and was part of the creative team that launched the Endless Summer Hydrangea brand. Peggy Anne went on to study native plants at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware and at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. She currently runs her own business as a horticultural consultant in Delaware and is proud to represent American Beauties Native Plants as their Brand Manager. She is a long-standing member of the Garden Writers Association, and has written for numerous trade and popular publications such as; American Nurseryman, Better Homes & Gardens, Fine Gardening, Organic Gardening and PHS’s GROW Magazine and has appeared on the TV programs; Prairie Yard and Garden, Hometime and Growing a Greener World. Peggy is a volunteer for the Delaware Center for Horticulture and many other horticultural institutions in the Greater Philadelphia area. Today she lives and gardens with her husband and fellow GWA’er (GardenComm'er), Dan Benarcik in northern Delaware.

Past Honorees