I was raised in Central New York, the Finger Lakes region to be exact. I grew up on a farm and come from a long line of horticulturists on my father's side of the family; I'm the 6th generation. I attended Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and earned my Bachelor's of Science in General Plant Sciences with a minor in Ornamental Horticulture. After college, I moved to New Hampshire after I graduated and worked on my family's fruit farm at their stand for a couple of years. I had decided to further my employment opportunities and took a job at a garden center in Nashua, New Hampshire as a nursery yard sales associate. In the spring of 1997, I moved to Rhode Island and I began to work at Chaves Gardens, Inc., as their nursery manager and garden designer. I have attended the University of Rhode Island and have taken landscape architecture courses for Chaves' Gardens.
I am currently a member of Greenwimmen, which is an organization of women horticulturists in Southern Rhode Island. I also belong to the Rhode Island Nurseryman and Landscape Association. I am very active in RINLA by participating with their publicity committee, flower show committee, website committee, and yearbook committee. In 2006,2007, and 2008, I was the designer of RINLA's Rhode Island Flower Show Exhibit. I have given talks and demonstrations to the Newport Garden Club, the Seaside Garden Club, the Warwick Neck Garden Club, The Foxoboro Garden Club, Blithewold: Mansion, Gardens, and Arboretum, and the Rhode Island Master Gardener organization.
1997-2002- Nursery Manager and Garden Designer; Chaves' Gardens, Inc., Middletown, RI
- Assist customers with plant selection and cultural practices, this includes visiting sites and drafting residential landscape plans
- Assess environmental, pest, and disease problems both in the nursery and those of customers
- Ordering of all nursery stock and managing inventory - Supervise and instruct nursery employees of daily maintenance and sales tasks
- Daily maintenance and merchandizing of nursery stock
1996-1997 - Sales Associate; PK's Garden Center, Nashua, NH
- Worked with managers compiling task lists for following day
- Prepare in depth fact sheets on available trees and shrubs
- Maintenance of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plant material
- Assess environmental, pest, and disease problems for customers and in the nursery
- Assist customers with plant selection and cultural practices
1994-1997 - Greenhouse and Fruit Stand Worker; Brookdale Fruit Farm, Hollis, NH
- Maintained indoor and outdoor plant material
- Quality control of plant material and farm produce for retail display
1994-1995 - Teaching Assistant; Introductory Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- Taught science labs, created lesson plans, corrected exams and term papers
- Held office hours and tutored students
Education: 1991-1995 BS, Plant Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Courses included: Botany, Plant Physiology, Plant Pathology, Woody Plant Materials, Annuals and Perennials, Practical Horticulture, Soil Fertility Management, Soil Sciences; Dean's List: 1994. Cumulative. GPA: 3.2
Other Activities and Interests:
- The K9 Connection, Warwick, RI - Rally Obedience and Canine Good Citizen Instructor.
Bowen's Wharf in Bloom; Newport, RI - Committee Member
- Greenwimmen, Middletown, RI - horticultural organization for women in the "Green" industry
- Rhode Island Nurserymen and Landscape Association: '97-present: 2008: Vice President; 2007 - 2008: Executive Board Member; 2006 - 2008 Rhode Island Flower Show RINLA Display Designer; Flower Show Committee; Publicity Committee; '01: Education Committee; '01: Website Committee
- Showing and competiting in Obedience and other dog performance sports with my two Rottweilers.
- Drawing/painting
Copyright © 2000 -2008
Cristin M. Larson, The Garden Consultant and Landscape Design
