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| Marc’s been a mentor to many in the horticulture field – including Learn2Grow’s Mark Miller. |
This 8th generation North Carolina gardener grew up in a family of gardeners, the most memorable of whom was his grandmother, “Miss Nannie.” She literally “planted the seed” of a lifelong love affair with plants when she gave her grandson a zinnia seed taken off a loaf of Merita® bread! After successfully sprouting and growing that, Marc was hooked.
With his love of plants firmly rooted, Marc received his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University in 1950, followed by his master’s and Ph.D. in horticulture from Cornell University. Immediately after that he was off to the Netherlands on a Fulbright Scholarship and spent a year studying at the Agricultural University in Wageningen. (That instilled his love of travel, which continues to this day.)
Marc officially began his career as a research horticulturist at the US Department of Agriculture, where his groundbreaking research on plant growth continues to benefit both commercial growers and home gardeners. He later became Director of the US National Arboretum, and also served as President of the American Horticultural Society (AHS). (Of course, he wasn’t happy only serving one presidential term, so he did it twice.) During his second tenure as AHS president, Marc worked on several projects for the organization, including the 2nd Edition of The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. In 1997, he coordinated the introduction of the AHS Plant Heat Zone Map, which permitted the coding of all plants for their heat tolerance as a way to close the circle on a plant’s temperature tolerance, when used with cold hardiness codes. Throughout his career, Marc has been a frequent guest on NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “Good Morning America” and CBS’s “Morning Break” shows. This, along with his numerous radio shows, generated an entire generation of “Cathey groupies” – those who have learned, laughed and loved one of America’s most productive and generous gardeners! Now retired, Marc and his wife Mary are busy “sprucing up” the grounds of their new home and sharing tips and ideas with their lucky neighbors!
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