This biographical study of the development of Marge Yates Jenkins into Louisiana's pre-eminent plantswoman examines the issues of culture and regional history, particularly the history of the horticultural industry in Louisiana. It traces how a self-taught botanist overcame the obstacles of gender and post-war depression to become an innovator in the nursery business, experimenting with native plants of the Southeast, as well as exotics imported from as far away as New Zealand. Her experiments and the plants that she introduced to the trade would eventually change the selection of plants used in the landscape industry in the Gulf Coast region.
The thesis relies primarily on the method of oral history to document Jenkins' life story and her impact on the professions of ornamental horticulture and landscape architecture. Her family history with its agricultural roots serves as a backdrop for her eventual entry into the field of horticulture. The thesis covers the development of horticulture in Louisiana from 1962 to 2004, and explains how Jenkins' work gradually changed the way plants were viewed and used in the landscape industries. Particular emphasis is placed on Jenkins' success as a plant propagator and on her introduction of new varieties of azaleas into commerce.
Finally, Jenkins' generous and open spirit is described as an important factor in her being able to bridge the gap between the nursery and horticulture industry, and landscape architecture theory and practice. The thesis calls upon these two aspects of landscape practice to embrace the model that Jenkins espouses in order to create landscape design that possesses the best of both the worlds of plants and design theory.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-11112004-121808 |
| Date | 11 November 2004 |
| Creators | Veltman, Gayna B. |
| Contributors | Bruce Sharkey, Suzanne L. Turner, J. Kevin Risk |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11112004-121808/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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