Vincent A. Simeone

Vincent has worked in the horticultural field for over 27 years. He received an AAS degree in ornamental horticulture from SUNY Farmingdale, Farmingdale, New York and a BS in ornamental horticulture from the University of Georgia, Athens, GA. While at Georgia, Vincent studied under well-known professors Dr. Michael Dirr and Dr. Allan Armitage. Vincent also obtained a Masters Degree in Public Administration from C.W. Post- Long Island University in 2003. Vincent has specialized expertise in woody plant id, culture, use and selection of superior varieties. Vincent is an experienced lecturer, instructor and horticultural consultant. He has spoken to many groups nation wide and has appeared on several garden shows including Martha Stewart Living and HGTV. Annually Vincent presents an average of 50 horticultural lectures, workshops and tours to garden clubs, plant societies, professional landscape, nursery and arboricultural trade associations and academic institutions. Topics range from plant, identification, woody plant selection and use, historic landscape preservation and general plant maintenance and care. Vincent teaches horticulture classes at New York Botanical Garden. Over the last fifteen years, Vincent has assisted Allan Armitage with garden tours through Southern England, Northern France, Southern Germany, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden. Vincent is very active in local and national organizations including The American Public Garden Association, New York Hortus Club, New York State Arborist, ISA Chapter, Long Island Arboricultural Assoc., Long Island Holly Society, American Rhododendron Society-New York Chapter, Nassau Suffolk Landscape Gardeners Assoc., and the Long Island Nursery and Landscape Assoc. Vincent serves on several committees including the Gold Medal Plant Award Committee and the LINLA Landscape Awards Committee and is the former chairman of the APGA Plant Collections Committee. For the past 25 years Vincent has worked in public horticulture at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in New York where he is the Director. He has written and contributed to various gardening articles for magazines and newspapers including the Long Island based newspaper, Newsday and Fine Gardening. Since 2005 he has published six books: Grow More With Less: Sustainable Garden Methods, Great Flowering Landscape Shrubs, Great Flowering Landscape Trees, Great Landscape Evergreens and The Wonders of the Winter Landscape and Getting Started Garden Guide to New York & New Jersey.  In 2010, Vincent contributed to a first ever textbook on public garden management.  Also in 2010, Vincent was named Man of the Year by the Long Island Nursery and Landscape Association. In 2014, Vincent was awarded the centurion award by Farmingdale State College as one of the top 100 alumni over the past century. In 2015, Vincent was awarded the distinguished arborists award from the NYS Arborists-ISA chapter.

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