Jeremy Schmidt – Crevice Gardening

BIO:
A broad-based horticultural leader by experience and a deep thinker by nature, Jeremy A. Schmidt celebrates the marriage of living art and ex situ conservation. As Director of Horticulture at Bellingrath Gardens and Home, Jeremy is driven to create adventurous-yet-translatable outdoor spaces that promote botanical mindfulness. His extensive hands-on experience has equipped him to innovate radical techniques for cultivating garden spaces—notably, by stacking over 1000 tons of stone since 2017. Previously, Jeremy was the Research and Grounds Supervisor at Plant Delights Nursery/Juniper Level Botanic Garden (2008-2023) and owner of a small business, Hortco (1998-present). Maintained at the highest aesthetic standards, Jeremy’s former home garden, the Bristol Briar (2011-2023), served as a personal platform to trial daring horticultural display ideas and to test botanical theories. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Horticulture from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2005), and gained curatorial and research experience at Longwood Gardens (2006). For more than two decades, Jeremy has studied eastern and midwestern US native Trillium populations throughout their natural and introduced range. When not in the garden, Jeremy is likely to be playing online chess poorly or out in his boat trying to catch dinner.