Mount Auburn’s year-long Horticulture Apprenticeship was created in 2014 to provide training and experience to a student or recent graduate seeking a career in public horticulture. Not only do participants provide a valuable contribution to Mount Auburn’s landscape, but they also get to build on their academic knowledge by learning firsthand how our staff applies these theories on a practical level around the Cemetery. Past apprentices have gone on to work at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Arnold Arboretum, and Mount Auburn’s own full-time staff.

Our current apprentices are Alex Wolfe (pictured left), who came to Mount Auburn in the spring of 2018 and has been hired for an additional year, and Alexandra Melian (pictured right), who began in the spring of 2019.

Spotlight: Alex Wolfe

Alex Wolfe, our 2018-2020 Horticulture Apprentice, came to Mount Auburn with a B.S. in Pre-Veterinary and Animal Sciences from the University of Delaware, and previously worked for local garden design and landscaping company Parterre Garden Services and as a horticulture assistant at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Highlights of her experience: I think my favorite projects and highlights of my time here have been when I’m involved in planting projects. The main project I worked on last year and am involved in again this year are plantings in the Dell and the Dell meadow. I also loved that the focus of that area involves the use of native plants. Since beginning work here, my plant identification skills have exponentially grown.

Spotlight: Alexandra Melian

Alexandra Melian, our 2019-2020 Horticulture Apprentice, came to Mount Auburn with a B.S. in Sustainable Landscape Horticulture and a minor in Geospatial Technologies from the University of Vermont (UVM). It was at UVM that she was introduced to organic agriculture and worked a total of nearly three farm seasons, as well as a horticultural assistant on UVM’s campus.

Highlights of her experience: My favorite way that I’ve spent my time here at Mount Auburn so far has been within the Gardening Department, and specifically when working on Asa Gray Garden. I love the continual upkeep and revision necessary in keeping the space beautiful, from weeding to planting to editing plant spread.

The Horticulture Apprenticeships are funded in part by donors to the Friends of Mount Auburn. If you’re interested in making a gift to support the program, please contact Jenny Gilbert, Director of Institutional Advancement at 617-607-1970 or jgilbert@mountauburn.org.