SFA Gardens lecture to feature gardening as a lifestyle, not a hobby

Steven Chamblee, retired director of horticulture at the Longview Arboretum and Nature Center, is the August speaker for Stephen F. Austin State University's Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Stephen F. Austin State University's SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Aug. 8 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

Steven Chamblee, retired director of horticulture with the Longview Arboretum and Nature Center, will present "Am I Tired or Just Retired? Gardening as a Lifestyle and Not a Hobby."

Chamblee is a horticulturist and public speaker with a great history of gardening and a unique perspective on life and people. Active in horticulture for more than 40 years, he uses humor and heart to bring hard science home and inspire gardeners across Texas.

Chamblee's love for plants began when he would help his father transplant trees in the late 1970s. He soon formed Southern Lawn Care, a landscape maintenance company, and in 1986, he joined the Fort Worth Botanic Garden as a gardener.

Chamblee's natural curiosity led him to enroll in Tarrant County College, where he earned his Associate of Applied Science in horticulture. Still working full time at the garden, Chamblee earned his Bachelor of Science in ornamental horticulture from Tarleton State University and a Master of Science in public horticulture administration from the University of Delaware.

After graduate school, he served as the native plant horticulturist for the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney before returning to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden as the grounds manager. He has also served as chief horticulturist for Chandor Gardens in Weatherford and as the executive director of the Longview Arboretum.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center and Raguet Elementary School, located at 2428 Raguet St.

For more information, call (936) 468-4129 or email [email protected].

ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers' college in Texas' oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges - business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 37 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor's degrees, more than 40 master's degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at the SFA website.