The Maple Society

Keith Johansson, “A Maple for Every Spot”.

Keith Johansson began collecting azaleas, rhododendrons and maples in the mid-eighties in Oklahoma. He was a charter member and is the past president of the Ozark Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society and has been a member of the Maple Society since 2005. In 1994 he formed METRO MAPLES and has been a full-time maple grower ever since which serves the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and beyone. Metro Maples keeps an inventory of over 15,000 maples in containers and also maintains display gardens where rare plants are found. Mr. Johansson introduced a very special Shuntung maple in 2006 which he patened, called ‘Fire Dragon”. He is also testing other Shuntung maples and plans to introduce five new ones in the near future.

John Powell, “The Role of the Maple in the Japanese Garden”.

John Powell is a Japanese style garden builder and pruning specialist from Weatherford, Texas. John is a graduate of West Virginia University with a degree in Forestry, and currently the co-owner of Weatherford Gardens Nursery and Landscaping. After a first visit to Japan in 1993, Mr. Powell launched an intensive study of Japanese garden design, construction and maintenance. In 1997, he attended the first Japanese Garden Seminar provided by the Japanese Garden Research Center at the Kyoto University of Art Design. This was followed by internships with Suzuki Zoen in Niigata, and most recently at the Adachi Museum of Art in Shimane Prefecture. Mr. Powell is also a staff writer for the JOURNAL OF JAPANESE GARDENING.

Casey Brownlow, “Creative Use of Plants to Accent Japanese Maples”.

Casey Brownlow is a graduate of the Gerald P. Hines School of Architecture at the University of Houston. He began his career in Houston in 1994 with Houston Greenscape. In 2000 he moved to Tyler, Texas with his wife, Kelley. While working for a local landscaping firm Casey had many significant and satisfying projects. From formal design based on eighteenth and nineteenth century French and English gardens to contemporary landscapes. Casey has focused on using native plant material, fusing interior and exterior architecture and delivering the highest quality product.
In April 2009, he founded Brownlow and Sons Garden Works. Though the “Sons”, George and Harris are nine and two years old, respectively, Casey hopes to hand down the family business to them and hopefully will share his love of the outdoors, plants, architecture and landscaping. He is actively involved in the community as a board member of the Heart of Tyler, and has helped raise much needed funds for local projects. Casey enjoys giving landscape-architecture lectures and programs. He is a member of First Baptist Church, Historic Tyler and the Order of the Rose. When Casey is not puttering in his own garden he enjoys hunting and travel.

Dr. David Creech, “Maple Mania at SFA Gardens – why 250 species and varieties isn’t enough”.

David L. Creech, PH. D. ….Regent’s Professor, has been at Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas since 1978. He is currently the Director of the 10 acre SFA Mast Arboretum, an on-campus resource which has enjoyed steady growth, development, utilization and visitation since its inception in 1985. He also directs the 8 acre Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden, which opened in 2000. This garden features 6000+ azaleas, over 200 varieties of Japanese maples, camellias and hydrangeas, plus numerous other collections.
Dr. Creech received his BS in Horticulture from Texas A and M University, MS in Horticulture from Colorado State University, and was awarded the PhD from Texas A and M. Dr. Creech has authored numerous scholarly and trade articles and lectures widely. He has a lengthy list of consultancies to Pakistan, Guatemala, Mexico, Nepal, Israel and China. Dr. Creech was President of the Native Plant Society of Texas 1991-1992.

Hugh Angus, “What Maple is That?”

Hugh Angus has worked for the Forestry Commission for 32 years, 23 of those at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum in the UK. He was Curator at Westonbirt, but, in the last few years he has worked as the Head of Tree Collections. Westonbirt is home to one of the finest tree collections in the world today, and a Grade One listed landscape. During this time his work has taken him to such places as China, Japan and North America. Mr. Angus is married, and the father of two grown children. In 2009 he was elected as Chairman of the Maple Society.
The talk describes the basics of maple identification and the key features to look for during the various seasons.

Peter regory, “Maple Flowers”.

Peter Gregory is retired manager of the world-famous Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, England. He has researched maples and other trees for more than 40 years. He began a career in tree research with the Forestry Commission Research Division and conducted various projects for more than thirty years, including provenance studies, species trials, and experiments on various plant establishment techniques, especially on difficult areas such as exposed sand dunes, mountain slopes, peat bogs and infertile soils.
For five years he managed the Royal Forests of Yardley Chase and Salcey in Northamptonshire before being appointed as Manager or Westonbirt Arboretum, one of the largest collections of trees in the temperate world, especially famous for its wonderful variety of maples of all species, ages, shapes and sizes.
He has continued his studies of maples since his retirement, becoming Chairman of the international Maple Society, which he helped found in 1990, and is Editor of the Society’s quarterly journal. He is recognized internationally as one of the leading authorities in all aspects of maples. Mr. Gregory lives in Cirencester, England where he enjoys photography, climbing, tennis and squash, in addition to his devotion to the maples. His 4th Edition, revised, of the Vertrees, Japanese Maples was just released this March.