Life Award

Ralph Thrane

For more than 20 years, local master orchardist and gardener Ralph Thrane has been educating gardeners on what works. An expert in growing small fruits, Ralph volunteers at Gibb’s Farm in St. Paul, overseeing the heirloom apple orchard. He is also the author of the monograph, A Compilation of Summary Information on Fruits, Vegetables, and Berries.

Ralph was a charter member of the MSHS Development Committee. He was instrumental in encouraging the State Legislature and the Governor’s office to restore funding to the horticultural society.

A long time member of the Washington County Horticultural Society, a former MSHS board member, and most recently a member of the Garden Club of Ramsey County, he has volunteered his time teaching classes and answering questions at the State Fair as a Master Gardener. A strong supporter of MSHS with his time, talent, and financial support, we thank Ralph for his many years of faithful service to the Minnesota State Horticultural Society.

Distinguished Service Award

Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association

The Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association is the state's oldest and largest green industry trade organization. Started in 1925, MNLA represents nursery and greenhouse growers, garden centers, irrigation contractors, industry suppliers, and a wide range of landscape professionals.  It has worked with MSHS to bring the Northern Gardener Store to the Northern Green Expo, MNLA’s industry conference. This exposure has been an effective partnership that MSHS appreciates and values. Many of our Commercial Partners and advertisers in Northern Gardener magazine are members of MNLA and, through their support, show the importance of both organizations.

Distinguished Service Award

Betty Ann Addison

Betty Ann Addison founded Rice Creek Gardens more than 40 years ago. She is a landscape designer, author, lecturer, photographer, and artist. She brings energy, knowledge and love of plants to every project she designs. The Peace Garden at Lake Harriet is her best-known public garden, while her private garden designs have been featured in many magazines and newspaper articles. When her long-time nursery in Blaine folded due to an invasive highway project, she packed up her rare alpine plants and dwarf conifers and headed to her home in Fridley to start anew.  Betty Ann is a long-time grower of rare plants—especially rock garden alpines, but also perennials, wildflowers, conifers, and rhododendrons. She was the founder of the Minnesota Chapter of the North American Rock Garden Society. Betty Ann is currently doing research on northern-hardy rhododendrons.

Bronze Award

David Bedford and Jim Luby

David Bedford has been the University of Minnesota's apple breeder—more specifically, a fruit crops scientist at the U's Horticultural Research Center at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum for 32 years. In the fall, his busy season, David spends most of his workday among the dwarf and full-size trees he's bred and grown. In one day, he'll walk up to 7 miles and taste 500 to 600 apples. Jim Luby is the head of the University of Minnesota's fruit breeding program—one of the oldest breeding programs in the U.S. Jim began working for the University of Minnesota in 1982. In addition to breeding apples, Jim’s program also breeds grapes, blueberries, and strawberries.

Bedford and Luby’s most famous discovery is the ‘Honeycrisp’ apple, which is the U's bestseller. More than 8 million of its trees have been planted around the world. In

2006, the ‘Honeycrisp’ was ranked as one of the top 25 academic or research innovations that changed the world and soon after was named Minnesota’s state fruit. Watch for their most recent discovery: SweeTango®.

Bronze Award

Peter Hemstad

The Minnesota cold is perpetually challenging for wine makers, but their persistence

and perseverance has built a wine industry that has obtained recognition from international competitions. Peter Hemstad, the grape breeder at the U’s Horticultural Research Center, has helped to develop many of the grapes used by Minnesota vintners, including the ‘Marquette’ grape, a variety designed to endure harsh winters and makes an excellent red wine.  The Frontenac, Frontenac gris, and La Crescent are the other cold-hardy grapes that the University has released over the past several years.

Developing new grapes is a painstaking process and can take 15 years or more. With these new winter hardy grape varieties, the number of wineries in the state of Minnesota has grown.  These varieties have also had a real impact on the wine industry throughout the Midwest, New England and Canada.

Outstanding Youth Award

Maggie Prunty

While still a high school senior, Maggie Prunty’s involvement in horticulture has been substantial. Not only was she instrumental in starting the Martin County West Future Farmers of America (FFA) Community Supported Agriculture Garden, she was solely responsible for the management of the garden in 2010.

Maggie’s dedication to the CSA garden has been incredible—she has dedicated four years of her life to working in the garden and ensuring its success. She is an excellent role model for other students, always demonstrating character and commitment to the task as hand.

Bruce Beresford Educator's Award

Pete Tremaine

Pete Tremaine has been a teacher at Anoka High School for 25 years. According to Michael Farley, the principal at the school, “I find Pete Tremaine to be one of the most dedicated and passionate educators I have worked with.” Outside of the classroom, Pete has advised numerous FFA landscape and horticulture teams at state ompetitions and continues to be a positive role model for his colleagues and students. Pete also has implemented a horticulture class for Special Education students and English Language Learners, which has been adopted at the other high schools in the district. He continues to pave the way for vocational excellence and program advancement.

Bob Churilla Golden Rose Volunteer Recognition Award

The MSHS Library Committee

The members of the library committee are a self-supervising and dedicated group of long-standing MSHS volunteers, many of whom come in weekly to maintain the 2,000-plus volume MSHS library, an important educational resource for members as well as the gardening community. 

In December 2009, the Library Committee Members went above and beyond the call of duty to successfully move the entire MSHS collection to our new office space in Roseville. Members of the committee are: Hank Herrmann, Mary Prokopiuk, Jean Scheu, Jean Smith and Norm Wente.

Garden Club Member of the Year Award

Mary Don Beeson, Garden Club of Ramsey County

Mary Don has been a tireless advocate for horticulture at the state, county, and local level. She has been active in the Garden Club of Ramsey County (GCRC) since joining in 2000, holding many officer and committee chair positions. She willingly accepts any challenge with enthusiasm. With her excellent organizational skills, new ideas, and creativity, she has greatly improved many club operations and raised much-needed funds for the GCRC. In addition, she has been an active MSHS volunteer and is a certified plant judge.

Garden Club of the Year Award

Garden Club of Ramsey County

The Garden Club of Ramsey County (GCRC) is dedicated to promoting: knowledge and love of gardening, the study of horticulture, floriculture, landscape and vegetable gardening, protection of native plants and trees, and civic planting to beautify our neighborhoods. This is accomplished

through providing excellent speakers at monthly meetings that are open to the public, donating to MSHS with a focus on educational programs, mentoring new members, and volunteering in the many public gardens that members maintain. GCRC’s 160 members have consistently volunteered more than 300 hours a year to MSHS. GCRC members have been actively involved with the District/Garden Club Committee and have shared their marketing materials with other MSHS-affiliated garden clubs to help them grow.

Community Garden Award

Norrie MacIlraith 

Norrie MacIlraith has done much to promote Rochester’s new rain garden program, including hosting many events and tours to educate citizens about rain gardens, leading talks about rain gardens, and providing other information in and accurate and engaging way. Norrie posted a map of her rain garden and plant labels that allow visitors to understand the rain garden concept and realize how well this kind of garden can fit on their own property.

She willingly gives her time and energy and has been an integral part of Rochester’s growing storm water volunteer program.  Norrie is an excellent resource.  She has contributed to the Olmsted County Master Gardener Group as the co-editor of the newspaper and has served as a liaison for the City’s storm water and rain garden related programs

Minnesota Recreation and Parks Association Award

Pottery Park Rain garden project

The Pottery Park Rain Garden has been a true community effort between Goodhue County Master Gardeners, members of the Goodhue County Horticultural Society, members of the Red Wing Chapter of the American Association of University Women, Red Wing students, and the city of Red Wing. It is the first rain garden constructed at a Red Wing park. The project has been a success due to the willingness of multiple volunteers who provided their knowledge and time establishing and maintaining the rain garden, which is now a beautiful, functioning storm water infiltration basin that provides both aesthetic and environmental benefits to the community. The rain garden is now a beautiful, functioning storm water infiltration basin that provides both aesthetic and environmental benefits to the community.

Joseph Priley Award

Hooves, Paws N’ Claws Club of Cass County

With the help of a Minnesota 4-H Foundation Helping Hand Grant, Hooves, Paws N’ Claws 4-H Club of Cass County designed and built flower beds around its county fairgrounds, planted annual and perennial flowers, installed rain gutters and eaves on the 4-H Food building, and installed two rain barrels to collect and use the rainwater in watering the flowers. The project provided club members with the opportunity to work with community businesses and learn about sustainable landscaping. The result of their hard work enhances the grounds in an eco-friendly and sustainable way.

Youth and the Environment Award

Tim Kenny, Director of Education – Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

In 1991, Tim Kenny created the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s Urban Garden Program. The program gives children from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds opportunities to forge connections with the natural world and to experience science in meaningful ways. The program now serves about 200 children a year. Because of Tim Kenny’s patience and commitment, urban children see science as much more than rules and books: It is discovery and understanding the laws of nature by what they see, hear, touch, taste and smell in the garden around them.

President’s Award

Bailey Nurseries

Newport-based Bailey Nurseries Inc. is a fourth-generation family-owned nursery serving customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. It is one of the United States' largest wholesale nurseries, with products distributed by more than 4,500 independent garden centers, landscapers, growers and re-wholesalers. A long-standing contributor to Minnesota Green, MSHS’s program to bring donated plant material to community gardens, Bailey’s donation is always the largest and it has had a huge impact on communities.  In 2010, gardeners from 12 counties received plants and trees for use in spaces maintained by neighborhood groups, nonprofits, and public housing organizations. We are grateful for the continued support and generosity of Bailey’s to local communities.

Governor's Certificate of Commendation

Jackie Smith