Scott Phillips, Assistant Manager of Horticulture

West Philadelphia born and raised. I am very proud to be from Philly and I’ve been lucky to work within a lineage of extraordinary plant people—especially my Mom, Norman Lehr, Michael Petrie, and Paul Orpello—and many others at J. Franklin Styer’s Nurseries to whom I’m forever thankful.

I’ve worked in horticulture since I was 13 years old, when I began assisting my mother, a plant-buyer at Styer’s. I’ve worked on tree farms, rose gardens, cut flower gardens, and in garden design. I also worked with PHS Philadelphia Flower Show award-winner Michael Petrie on many projects, including installations, and have participated in the Philadelphia Flower show for over a decade.

Prior to starting at the Arnold, I was a gardener at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, where I assisted head horticulturist Paul Orpello and learned how to manage gardens organically. I have worked as a master groundskeeper at Gabis Arboretum at Purdue Northwest, a 300-acre oak preserve of formal gardens, woodlands, wetlands, prairies, and hiking trails located near Valparaiso, Indiana. I also led in the management of prescribed burns per CRP.

I love everything about the field of horticulture and look forward to every day at Arnold Arboretum. I am proud and thankful to work in a place that I have admired since I was a youth. I am continuously inspired by past and present horticulturists, including my Mom, Beatrix Farrand, Andrea Brunsendorf, E. H Wilson, Christopher Lloyd, Fergus Garrett, Piet Oudolf, everyone at Chanticleer & Dixter, and Karl Foerster—I am lucky to follow in their footsteps.