A few weeks ago, I went shopping for plants at the spring plant sale sponsored by UNC Charlotte’s Botanical Gardens. I had the good fortune of running into Dr. Jeff Gillman, the Director of the gardens, and he helped me find plants that would grow in my garden’s shady section.
As is usually the case when I see Jeff, we ended up talking about our friend Dr. Larry Mellichamp, the previous Director of UNC Charlotte’s Botanical Gardens. Larry retired in 2014, but Larry and Jeff often visit each other and collaborate on garden projects. Our conversation turned to Larry’s delightful and insightful books, and we agreed that Larry has a special talent for telling stories about plants. I asked Jeff if he would write about Larry’s books for my Storied Charlotte blog, and he readily agreed. Here is what he sent to me:
Academics, especially those in the sciences, tend to write for other academics. Their writing is usually dry, full of scientific jargon, and just not very pleasant to read on a beautiful Saturday morning. This is a real shame because, let’s face it, academics tend to know more about the subject which they study than almost anyone else. Every once in a while, however, one of these dry as bones scientific authors will decide that regular people are actually worthy of their time and attention and they will create something amazing. Such is the case with Dr. Larry Mellichamp, Professor and Director Emeritus of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens.
As the Director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens for over thirty-nine years, Larry has hands-on experience and knowledge of an incredible array of plants. At various times in his career, he could claim elite expertise in orchids, carnivorous plants, ferns, and others, but he is perhaps best known for his work with native plants.
Over the years Larry wrote six books, all of which targeted the average person on the street and helped to make plants more interesting and accessible. His book Bizarre Botanicals, written with Paula Gross, is a great example of Larry collecting information on a plethora of fascinating plants and, instead of keeping it to himself, letting people know about all of the cool specimens that are out there. The book even includes information about the difficulty of growing these odd and intriguing plants, letting us know whether a beginner should give them a shot or if it’s only for the advanced gardener.
Larry’s best-known book is, without a doubt, Native Plants of the Southeast. It’s an incredible journey through the plethora of plants native to the Southeast with wonderful notes and specifications. Perhaps most interesting to the lay reader is the star system that it utilizes, rating various native plants according to how well they fit into a home landscape. It’s a wonderful tool that gets the reader thinking about how well a native landscape might fit into and around their home. After writing Native Plants of the Southeast, Larry followed up with the Native Plant Primer (written with Paula Gross), an easy-to-use book for the beginner in the world of native plants. Along with his previous books including The Winter Garden, Practical Botany (with P. B. Kaufman, J. Glimn-Lacy, & D. LaCroix), and Wildflowers of the Western Great Lakes Region (with James Wells and Fred Case) Larry has done a great service for both the casual and advanced Gardeners of the Southeast with his writing.
On April 23, Larry received the Flora Caroliniana award from the North Carolina Botanical Gardens for his work in the field of botany and especially for introducing people, through his writing, to the fascinating world of plants. It is a fitting award for a uniquely talented educator and writer.
Larry’s interest in sharing his passion for plants is not limited to the adult readers of his books. Some years ago, I ran a week-long Harry Potter summer camp at UNC Charlotte, and I devoted a day to herbology. I contacted Larry and asked him if he would talk to my campers about unusual plants. Larry is a world-famous expert on the Venus flytrap and other carnivorous plants, and I knew that the campers would be interested in these odd plants. Larry not only agreed to talk with the campers, but he threw himself into the spirit of the Harry Potter camp, playing the role of our camp’s very own Professor of Herbology. We met at the university’s McMillan Greenhouse where Larry introduced the campers to many bizarre plants. Then Larry gave the kids a tour of the greenhouse, paying particular attention to the carnivorous plants that grow there. Larry’s zeal for these plants and his willingness to engage with the kids in a playful way won over the campers. That afternoon, they all enthusiastically drew pictures and wrote stories based on the plants they had observed in the greenhouse.
Many gardeners have green thumbs, but Larry has more than special thumbs. He has the magical power to spark a curiosity about plants in the minds of all who come into contact with him. Jeff and I agree that Storied Charlotte and indeed the wider world is a greener place because of Dr. Larry Mellichamp.
