Dr. Armitage is well known as a writer, speaker and researcher throughout the world. He has evaluated garden plants in Montreal, Canada, East Lansing, Michigan and now in Athens, GA and has gained an appreciation of plant development in the North and South. He holds his B.Sc from MacDonald College, Quebec, M.Sc. from University of Guelph, Ontario and his Ph.D. from Michigan State.
Writing
He is a prolific and well-respected writer. He has written over 350 articles and papers in journals such as Horticulture Magazine, American Nurseryman, Greenhouse Grower, Grower Talks, Plant Physiology and the journals of The American Society of Horticultural Science. He writes a monthly column for Greenhouse Grower Magazine, a national trade journal, in which he discusses new crops and new trends in floriculture and is a regular contributor to Fine Gardening Magazine.
He is the author of 10 books. He is best known for his classroom and reference text, ,Herbaceous Garden Perennials, a Treatise of Identification, Culture and Garden Attributes,, now in its 2nd edition (1146 pages), a standard reference for gardeners, professionals and students. In 1997, it was designated as one of the 75 most important horticultural books written in the last 75 years by the American Horticultural Society. In January, 1999, the book was selected by Choice, the publication of Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, as one of the top 3% of Academic Books reviewed in 1998.
The book, Armitage's Garden Perennials (2000) is a comprehensive photographic resource on perennial plants, with descriptions of 136 genera and nearly 1500 color photos. Within 60 days of publication, it went into its third printing. It is a best seller among industry personnel and gardeners alike. Recently. it was awarded the 2001 Garden Writers Association of America Quill & Trowel Award.
Armitage's Manual of Annuals, Biennials and Half Hardy Perennials (2001) provides an in-depth look at the large diversity of annual and biennial species for gardeners. This much-needed informative text discusses 279 species in detail and summarizes the distinguishing features of hundreds of cultivars. The book was awarded a 2002 Golden Globe award from the Garden Writers Association of America and the 2001 Book Award from the American Horticultural Society. It was also selected by Choice, the publication of Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, as one of the top 3% of Academic Books reviewed in 2000.
His last book Armitage's Garden Annuals (2004) is similar in format to the color book on perennial above, in which 1500 plus photos plus text bring the reader up to date with the newest in specialty and bedding annuals. Released in February, 2004, it is already doing extraordinarily well.
The book Legends in the Garden, Who in the World is Nellie Stevens (2001), co-authored with Linda Copeland brings history and horticulture together. The book relates the stories of the people whose names appear on some of our most beloved garden plants. It is presently in its 3rd printing.
In 1993, Armitage wrote the internationally respected Specialty Cut Flowers in which commercial production and postharvest handling of over 200 species of specialty cut flowers are covered. In 2003, the book was updated and revised with co-author, Judy Laushman. The 2nd edition was expanded from 586 pages from 372 pages in the original version. It remains the primary source of up to date information on the production and care of cut flowers.
Other books include Allan Armitage on Perennials, a guidebook to perennials throughout North America which won the prestigious Garden Communication Award from the Garden Writers Association of America, Ornamental Bedding Plant Production which discusses commercial production of bedding plants. It was, published by CAB Press in England for European and American distribution, and has since been translated into Japanese. Additional works include Bedding Plants, Prolonging Shelf Performance, designed to enhance proper handling of garden plants, and a revised book on Seed Propagated Geraniums (2nd ed), the first book in the Commercial Greenhouse Series of books on production of greenhouse crops in which he was the editor.
His current book project Armitage's Native Plants has been completed and should be released in February, 2006.
Teacher and Speaker
As a teacher and speaker, Dr. Armitage has lectured in Canada, United States, Colombia, New Zealand, Australia and Europe and is in constant demand. He has visited research centers and production centers throughout the world and is constantly studying annuals, perennials, cut flowers, and greenhouse crops in various climates. He teaches courses in Greenhouse Production, Greenhouse Crop Management and Herbaceous Plant Identification and Use. He is a highly engaging teacher and his courses fill rapidly. He has received numerous teaching awards. He presently serves as a correspondent for the popular ,Victory Garden shown on public television channels around the country. He also served as an advisor for the Garden Book Club of America and has consulted for Scholastic Books, publisher of the Magic School Bus series of science books for children.
Research
His research is multi-faceted. His long interest in New Crops for the garden, greenhouse, and field has taken him to gardens all over the world. His New Crop Program is well known and has resulted in numerous introductions to the Ornamental trade. He has been responsible for introducing a half dozen plants to the greenhouse and garden trade such as Verbena 'Homestead Purple', Sweet Potato 'Margarita', the Sunlover Series of Coleus, Tibouchina 'Athens Blue', Plectranthus 'Athens Gem', Rosmarinus 'Athens Blue Spires' and Dicentra 'Athens Yellow'. The national interest in crops he promotes resulted in his plants being promoted nationally under the banner "Athens Select", a national marketing program for plants Armitage selects suggests for heat and humidity tolerance. Presently, he has introduced approximately 20 plants under the "Athens Select" label, including Cleome 'Linde Armstrong', Turnera 'El Dorado' and Ruellia 'Ragin Cajin'.
He also conducted investigations on Commercial Cut Flower Production, which led to the development of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, a professional growers organization which now consists of over 800 members. He work in Bedding Plant and Perennial Plant Production for the greenhouse has led to numerous publications and advances in the floriculture industry. Dr. Armitage is also in charge of the University of Georgia Horticulture Gardens (The Gardens at UGA, www.uga.edu/ugatrial) and produces annual guidelines for annuals and perennials suitable for heat and humidity. The garden, which is supported by growers and seed breeders around the world, is visited by flower breeders, retailers, landscapers, growers and gardeners throughout the year. The Gardens at UGA are an All America trial garden and Armitage is a flower judge for the All America Selection organization.
Lately, his research focuses on the utilization of woody shrubs for the greenhouse and retail industry. He believes that with the advent of more dwarf, colorful shrubs, greenhouse growers and the woody plant industry will finally join to provide these plants in smaller containers for the retail outlet and consumer. He is working on approximately 10 genera in cooperation with industry leaders funding the work.
Awards
His awards include The Kiplinger Chair at Ohio State University, the Alex Laurie Award for outstanding research in horticulture, Outstanding Teacher Award from the Professional Greenhouse Growers of Georgia, the Futura Award for outstanding teaching and research from the Professional Plant Growers Association, the Golden Trowel Award for his book ,Allan Armitage on Perennials from the Garden Writers of America, the Education Media Award for his book Specialty Cut Flowers from the Professional Plant Growers Association, Teacher of the Year from the Georgia Green Industry Association and the Gold Medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for Exceptional Service in American Horticulture.
He was recognized as one of the best teachers in the nation when he received the distinguished National Educator Award from the American Horticultural Society and The Medal of Honor, the highest award possible from the Garden Club of America. He was presented with the Horticulture Initiative Award, presented by the Southeast Greenhouse Growers Association, due to his direct enhancement of the economic well-being of the horticultural industry and most recently was presented with the Award of Excellence, the highest honor given by the National Council of State Garden Clubs. In 2000, he received the highest award possible from the Perennial Plant Association, the Award of Merit, in recognition of outstanding contributions to the perennial industry. Also in 2000, he was the first recipient of the Medal of Excellence from Greenhouse Grower Magazine, awarded to the individual most responsible for leadership in the new crop development.
A special award, The Allan Armitage Leadership Award, was established by the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers to be awarded to the individual who exemplifies outstanding leadership in the specialty cut flower industry. In January, 2001, Dr Armitage was the only living person chosen among the top 10 "Spheres of Influence" in the floriculture business by his colleagues. In 2001, he was presented with the University of Georgia Alumni Award, a prestigious award based on excellence in teaching, research and extension, and in 2002 he was presented with Best Teacher Award from the University. He also served as an advisor for the Garden Book Club of America and has consulted for Scholastic Books, publisher of the Magic School Bus series of science books for children.
Armitage was recently nominated for Georgia Author of the Year (2005) for his book Armitage's Specialty Annuals.
CD-Roms
Two CD-ROMS for plant professionals and gardeners were finished in 1998-99. The Photographic Encyclopedia of Herbaceous Plants includes approximately 7200 photos of cultivars and species of annuals, perennials, bulbs, ferns and cut flowers. The second is an interactive CD-ROM, The Educated Gardener, which allows gardeners and designers to rapidly search by flower color, height, climatic zone and sun/shade tolerance for thousands of perennial entries, and bring up associated text and photos. It is also particularly helpful to educators and students. It was quickly accorded the Green Thumb Award from the Mail Order Gardening Association in 1999.
He has recently completed four additional interactive CDs for the gardener, called This is Gardening with Allan Armitage. They consist of full CDs on Perennials, Annuals, Hostas and Allan's Garden. Their objective is to inspire and excite people about plants and gardening. He is presently working on a CD to demonstrate the range of cultivars and clarify the multiple names of plants in the genus Coleus.
In spring, 2005, Armitage launched the first (ever) Internet courses for gardeners and professionals; Perennials for Sun and Perennials for Shade. They are in-depth courses encompassing Taxonomy, Morphology and Design and audio, along with quizzes on each of forty genera of perennial plants.
