JARS v39n3 - Gertrude S. Wister Receives Arthur H. Scott Garden and Horticulture Award

Gertrude S. Wister Receives Arthur H. Scott Garden and Horticulture Award

Swarthmore, Pa., April 19, 1985...Distinguished horticulturist Gertrude Smith Wister has been chosen as the 1985 recipient of the Arthur Hoyt Scott Garden and Horticulture Award from Swarthmore College. Wister was presented with the prestigious award on Sunday, May 19, by Swarthmore President David Fraser.

Wister was assistant director of the Scott Horticultural Foundation for thirteen years, and held the same position at the John J. Tyler Arboretum in Lima, Pa. She is the wife of the late Dr. John C. Wister, the first director of the Scott Foundation and the Tyler Arboretum.

Gertrude Wister also edited the Bulletin of the National Council of State Garden Clubs and the Yearbook of the American Daffodil Society for many years, and was assistant editor of two books on gardening. She is the author of Hardy Garden Bulbs and numerous published articles.

The Scott Garden and Horticulture Award, established in 1929, consists of a gold medal and $1,000. It is given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the science and art of gardening, and who has helped create and develop a wider public interest in the field. It is one of the top two horticultural awards in the country.

Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Wister graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin's College of Agriculture with a degree in horticulture. She worked as a garden consultant before joining the staff of the Scott Horticultural Foundation in 1944.

In recognition of her contributions to the field, Wister has received three of gardening's most prestigious honors: the Distinguished Achievement Award of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Thomas Roland Medal of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and the Gold Medal of the American Rhododendron Society. She is a life member and trustee of the Tyler Arboretum, and a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Horticultural Society and the Royal Horticultural Society.

The Arthur Hoyt Scott Horticultural Foundation was established in 1929. The Foundation strives to promote horticulture and to educate the community about plants which can be easily grown in eastern Pennsylvania. A practical resource organization for both the novice and the serious horticulturist, the Foundation serves as the curator for the 350-acre campus of Swarthmore College, which is designated as an arboretum.