2025 ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM "Roots and Shoots"
October 16-18, 2025 Blandy Experimental Farm, Boyce VA
We are returning to our roots at Blandy, the State Arboretum of Virginia. The 2025 Symposium will focus on building both the skills and knowledge of landscape professionals and boxwood enthusiasts alike. Join us for a mix of tours, lectures, workshops, and demonstrations.
There is the additional option of adding on a tour of Rachel “Bunny” Mellon’s gardens at Oak Spring. Managed by the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, the gardens showcase Mrs. Mellon’s design style. The walled garden is nothing short of enchanting! The pergola of pleached ‘Mary Potter’ crabapples and ‘Kingsville Dwarf’ boxwood lead to Bunny’s unheated glass greenhouses of tropicals, hardy plants, and topiaries. The home of Paul and Bunny Mellon is not normally open to the public so we are beyond pleased to offer this tour.
Symposium Sessions
“The Boxwood Identity: How One Humble Plant Transformed My Design Language: From Framing to Sculpture—A Botanical Chameleon in the Southern Garden” – The symposium keynote will be delivered by Ed Tessier, Principal Landscape Architect with BFT Land Design in Brentwood, TN “Hope for the Future of Boxwood: Bennett Saunders, General Manager for Saunders Genetics, Piney River, VA
“Selection of Buxus cultivars for Production and Incorporation in Designs” - Panelists are Katie Mullen, designer, owner of Classic Landscape, Charlotte, NC; Bennett Saunders, General Manager for Saunders Genetics, Piney River, VA; Kevin Collard owner of Pine View Nursery, Leitchfield, KY; and Andrea Filippone, designer and president of F2 Environmental Design, Pottersville, NJ
“Boxwood Problem Control through the Basics – Cultural, Mechanical, and Biological First” – Mike Gaines, founder, CW Arborists, Sagaponack, NY
“Pruning to Maintain and Rejuvenate” – a lecture and demonstration by Marc Vedder, Foreperson, and Jonathan Kavalier, Director, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC
“Impact of Soil Analysis, Amendments, and Maintenance on Root Development” – lecture and demonstration by Andrea Filippone, F2 Environmental Design, Pottersville, NJ
“Intricacies of Boxwood Propagation” – Kevin Collard, Pine View Nursery, Leitchfield, TN
“Diagnosing Boxwood Problems: Applying the Process to the Clues” – a walking lecture with Pat Reilly, Horticulture Outreach Specialist, Saunders Brothers, Inc., Piney River VA
Additional Details
The symposium also features a lecture and book signing with the International Registrar of Buxus, L. Lynn Batdorf; an update on Blandy Experimental Farm by Curator T’ai Roulston; a social hour and informal dinner on Thursday, box lunches and refreshments; a silent auction, and other opportunities for socializing, networking, and collaboration.
Registration
The basic registration will be $395 for members, $495 non-members, with fees for optional tours and additional meals. Those current with dues will receive advance notice of registration as a benefit of membership. A block of rooms has been secured at a nearby La Quinta hotel (around $125 per night) with many other options in Winchester, VA.
Looking to the Future
2026 Symposium - Louisville, KY
2027 Symposium - Washington DC
Interested in helping plan these events? Email amboxwoodsociety@gmail.com. All are welcome!
HORTICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE ONLINE CLASSES
The Boxwood Blight Insight Group (BBIG) hosts regular online classes on Boxwood blight.
See their website for details.
Blandy Experimental Farm
Check out the American Boxwood Society's Boxwood Memorial Garden during events at Blandy.
SUBMIT EVENTS
Email all submissions to amboxwoodsociety@gmail.com. Thanks!
BOXWOOD TOUR OF ITALY - Rome and the Gardens of Tuscany
Thank you to all those that attended! Watch this space for future international ABS events.
