ANN AMATO BIO
Ann Amato lives in Portland, Oregon and is a horticulturist and seed propagator at Cistus Nursery and a propagator at Secret Garden Growers in Canby, Oregon. At 18, she published the book Ancient Forests and Western Man: A Pictorial History of the West Coast. Later, she earned a bachelors of arts from Portland State University with a double major in English literature and art history. She has been a garden blogger (amateurbotannist.com) for over a decade and is the recipient of an Oregon Nurseries Foundation Scholarship. Currently, she is the President of the Mount Hood Gesneriad Society, an affiliated chapter of The Gesneriad Society. She been featured in horticulture media like Garden Time TV, The Planthunter in Australia, and the podcast Horticulture Rising. When not working, she tends to her indoor houseplant collection at home where she has over 500 different plants in her indoor collection, many of which are either gesneriads or begonias. She also tends to her small urban garden named Campiello Maurizio: the Garden of One-of-each-ee. You can learn more about Ann by visiting her website Amateur Bot-ann-ist, her store Spiffy Seeds, Facebook, and Instagram.
SHOW NOTES
Ann’s early experiences with nature in the Pacific Northwest, being mentored by plant enthusiasts, and experiences with her dad
Ann’s pursuit of biology at Lewis and Clark College and health issues with hereditary angioedema
Publishing Ancient Forests and Western Man: A Pictorial History of the West Coast in college
Shifting to studying art history
Ann’s interest in critical theory in art history and horticulture
Inspiration from the gardens at The Huntington
Becoming a propagator at Cistus Nursery and roles at Secret Garden Growers
Plants as a solace during her illness
Ann’s interest in how people and society engages with plants
Landscapes in art history and mimicry
“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walt Whitman
The title of Seedstress and the pleasures of germinating seeds
Caring about where plants were propagated
Different germination stations for seeds
Core lessons about germinating seeds including it is complicated, it takes time, success is variable, understanding percentage germinated, and how too much care can lead to failure
Deciding on what media to use for seed germination
How environmental conditions can influence germination
How to experiment sowing seeds by talking to colleagues and societies, splitting batches up, and using chemicals
Note taking about seed germination in Excel
Deciding what seed to sow
The epiphany that horticulture is social and the effects of temperature and light on seed growth
Staying current from friends that share knowledge with her
Underused plants including Begonia, Petunia, and grandma plants
The myth that her job is a dream job
Why Ann writes in her blog Amateur Bot-ann-ist
Being inspired by Beth Chatto’s book The Dry Garden and field guides
Propagating more horticulturists by better communication and encouraging more professionalism about gardening
Connecting with Ann on her blog Amateur Bot-ann-ist, her store Spiffy Seeds, Facebook, and Instagram