StemCell Therapy

QUIONES

Adriana Quiones remembers the exact moment she decided to switch her career path to public gardening, which ultimately led to her current position as executive director of Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens.

I was in Ohio and eventually worked for a national nonprofit in the green industry, which is plants, but it represented the for-profit side of things landscapers, garden centers, greenhouse growers, nurseries, things like that.

As an educational program director there, she was organizing conferences and recruiting guest speakers.

I liked that job and loved who I worked with, Ms. Quiones said, but there was a day I was in my office after sending 2,000 emails, and I looked out my window because I was tired of looking at my screen, and the guys were out landscaping. And I thought, I really miss being in a garden. And at that point, I decided I really needed to get back to public gardening, which is why I went to college in the first place.

Adriana Quiones poses by Steel Palm, a sculpture by Boston artist Jacob Kulin. It literally is paradise here, in my opinion, she says. I hate the cold, which is my Puerto Rican blood. Everybody told me Id be too hot down here, but no. I wear sweaters. CREDIT: BOB MASSEY / FLORIDA WEEKLY

That college career was impressive, and didnt come until she was already working in an arboretum an unusual job choice for someone who hated flowers growing up.

I just fell in love with trees and woody plants, Ms. Quiones said. I loved the permanence of them. There was one particular tree there that I fell in love with. It was called Stewartia pseudocamellia. I always get that name in every interview I do. That tree was so beautiful. I thought, If I can do trees, this Ill like.

After distinguishing herself by graduating summa cum laude with a bachelors degree in landscape horticulture from Ohio State University, she received a full academic scholarship to enter the OSU masters degree program in plant molecular genetics. There, she studied the genetic pathways leading to flowering in Magnolia virginiana, where she discovered and named three genes.

My mom said, Of all my children, youre the last one Id expect to go into horticulture, Ms. Quiones said with a laugh.

The career that seemed to run through her family was art but she almost didnt have a family. In fact, she almost wasnt born.

My dad was born and raised in Puerto Rico, but he served in the Army during the Korean War, Ms. Quiones explained. He had something miraculous happen, where he was supposed to get on a boat twice, and they called him off the boat. On one of those ships, most of the people died.

Her father lived to attend art school on the G.I. Bill, choosing the rinky dink Columbus Art School in Columbus, Ohio, over New Yorks Pratt Institute because it was cheaper to live there.

He spoke no English when he came here, Ms. Quiones said. He had no family in Ohio, knew no one. He ended up working as a graphic artist for the Department of Defense for his career in Columbus. Then he met my mom during that time, married her and had three girls.

Ms. Quiones, as well as her two older sisters, attended art school, to which Ms. Quiones had gotten a scholarship. Her son is an architect, and her daughter graduated with a degree in animation and illustration before enlisting in the Marines to become a combat artist.

She was deployed three times, and drew pictures, Ms. Quiones said. She just got out of active duty (in October).

The news that her daughter was going into the military was a surprise to Ms. Quiones.

Were a family of artists we make art, not war, she joked, belying her obvious motherly pride. And going into the Marines, of all the branches?

As she did in school, Ms. Quiones continues to excel in her profession. For example, the American Public Gardens Association is the trade organization for that industry, serving more than 600 member institutions representing more than 9,000 garden professionals in 14 countries. Ms. Quiones sits on its national board of directors, chairs the IDEA committee, and serves on the scholarship and governance committees.

She intends to use her skills, influence and experience to raise the level of Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens.

I believe this garden will become a national-caliber garden, she said. How long that will take, I dont know Id like to say sooner rather than later but thats what this garden is headed toward. That is the goal of everyone involved here, is to bring us to the point where we are a national attraction, not just a local, attraction.

We want to add more sculptures. The sculpture part of this garden is what makes it unique. Selby is on the water. Naples is on the water. So we cant just say were on the water. To have this collection of sculptures from all over the world, by artists who are known internationally, and to expand that part of it, thats going to bring this garden up to quite a higher level.

As for now, she views Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens as a haven of sorts. During the course of the pandemic, people can feel isolated. She wants the gardens to be a place where people can come to volunteer, meet others with like minds and interests, make friends and not feel so alone.

Were developing our educational programs so we can reach out to teach people about things that interest them, Ms. Quiones said. I have a bonsai class coming up. We have a class on the sensory garden. Weve become a community resource; we can talk about the environment.

Thats the stuff that excites me.

See more here:
The blossoming career of Adriana Quiones - Florida Weekly

This entry was posted on November 27, 2020 at 12:53 am and is filed under Molecular Genetics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |