Past Features
Featuring: Jim Nau
B.S. in Horticulture - 1982
Manager of The Gardens at Ball
Ball Horticultural Company, West Chicago, Illinois
Oddly enough, Iowa State was not my first choice for higher education. Gardening, I first thought, was only a hobby. While I had always been fascinated with plants since growing up on our farm in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, I always mused that this was something you did in your spare time. Music was an equal love and for that reason I went to another institution to pursue my career – specifically piano. However, at the end of my freshman year when I realized that music was the hobby and gardening was destined to be my life's profession, I transferred to Iowa State.
Where I am today is due to pure guidance. In February, 1982 (three months before I graduated), I had accepted a position in horticulture extension in Waterloo, Iowa. However, my advisor, Dr. Richard Gladon, recommended that I interview with a number of companies to see what areas interested me. After several interviews, I turned down the extension position to be the Trials Manager for Ball Seed Company in West Chicago, Illinois and embarked on my career here in June, 1982.
Now in my 23rd year at Ball, I manage the greenhouses and grounds including The Gardens at Ball, the corporation's 7.5-acre display and trialing gardens. The Gardens recently underwent an extensive 18-month renovation and reopened July 25, 2005 in recognition of Ball's 100th anniversary. We test an average of 2,800 different plants each year in these gardens, ranging from annuals and perennials to vegetables, tropicals, ferns, grasses and herbs. With the unveiling of the new Gardens, we also substantially increased the assortment of trees and shrubs that are hardy to northern Illinois.
I lecture and write, mostly in the fall and winter, on plants for the home garden and professional landscape. I love to travel and have had the opportunity to speak throughout the U.S. and Canada as well as overseas. I find horticulture an exciting profession, one that allows me to enjoy the art while investigating the scientific.
