As a UNH freshman, registering for the semester’s classes, thinking she was going to major in business, Amy Papineau’s path to her horticulture career was launched. For her intended major in the business program, she needed a calculus course. BUT the only day and time it was offered didn’t fit with the rest of her schedule. A registrar suggested she take “The Power of Plants” which would offer a class giving credits but would lighten her course load a little bit. The rest is history. Amy’s career was launched at that point, unbeknownst to her, all because that calculus class couldn’t fit her schedule, and her powerful appreciation of plants led her to the career which is her passion.

Edging forward in the horticulture career path, she found a part-time job working in the UNH greenhouses. Slowly, presented with research opportunities as a supportive technician, she was introduced to the processes of plant breeders’ work and the study of genetics in plants. In this role, she was exposed to more depth in the study of plants, and her college course load slowly migrated from business to the background businesses in the horticulture industry.

Amy’s face lights up and she’s adamant about the rarity of true blue flowers. Explaining her role in the UNH research on Nolana plants, (Solanaceae/nightshade family) growing in the Atacama Desert of Chile and extending into Peru, she describes it in almost poetic terms.

The bulk of the time you might talk to Papineau about plants you will notice her keen ability to speak in accurate botanical terms, using technical language, as well as her ability to bring her conversation to the level any audience can understand. She’s a natural teacher, wanting her audiences to grasp the concepts she’s sharing, and understand the research she’s now sharing from the UNH Cooperative Extension Service.

But, it’s the Nolana flower with its eerily true blue hue that puts her conversation on a different level. While explaining how she worked with seed germination projects from colleagues collecting the seeds in the mountains of Peru, it’s clear she was deeply concerned about seed viability and germination processes. “In the end, we just decided that since time after time, the results were not yielding the flowers as they were found in the mountains of South America, the project concluded. The Nolanas we were working with just weren’t content and not going to grow in containers as we wished they would.”

In talking about that long run research project, she didn’t lament that she hadn’t gone to South America to collect the seeds, but she shared the spark she feels living in New Hampshire, on a lake not far from UNH! It’s clear, as the conversation evolved about her career, that New Hampshire mirrored “There’s No Place Like Home” adage heard from Dorothy Gale in the Wizard of Oz.

Once fully enveloped in the greenhouse industries and projects UNH conducted for business applications, she wanted to gain more knowledge and experience which could be offered through an internship at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. Her assignments there included breeding pitcher plants – with what we might call “extreme pitcher plants” reaching heights of 4′-5′! Pitcher plants of that size were sought after by landscape architects and plant enthusiasts for massive containers and use as design elements in large scale corporate locations.

Blue flowers crept into Amy’s professional work palette again while at Longwood. Another part of her work there included working with Cineraria flowers – which bloom in many bright colors, but her tasks revolved around the care and breeding of the lavender and blue-hued blooms. Along with Cineraria (Asteraceae/daisy family, originally from the Canary Islands,) her internship included working on Clivia with double flowers. There’s a theme of these extreme colors or sizes of plants, which is a contradiction to Papineau’s unassuming, calm, and confident nature.

With a smattering of work on big trees, and what conditions might bare root or pot-grown trees be preferred for healthier street trees written in to municipal plans, Amy has a diverse background with this wide range of plants. Biomes and plant purposes are in her professional experience bank. She has also worked on some proprietary plant introductions with perennials, shrubs and specifically some roses. Involving induced mutations, her expertise in botany and how plants work led to some commercial viability for her employers after the Longwood Gardens internship.

Still in Pennsylvania, she found herself driving as frequently as possible back to New Hampshire – enjoying her old stomping grounds, and the sights, sounds, and smells of New Hampshire trees and the lake she was so fond of. Never out of contact with her UNH professors and greenhouse professionals, she was able to truly reconnect with the university’s greenhouses, and research projects through the Extension.

Amy Papineau admired and speaks highly of the days working with Dr. Cathy Neal, Dr. Stan Swier, and Brian Krug. Between Swier’s background in entomology, Krug’s expertise in growing Poinsettias for research or commercial production, and Neal’s vast array of projects, Amy fit right in! It was with Cathy Neal that Amy’s work in meadows and meadow design and upkeep might have the strongest connection to the UNH Landscape Association. “Many people want the casual, natural look of a meadow,” Papineau cites, “but they are a lot of work. I mean a LOT of work.” She goes on to explain the natural progression of the plants and flowers in a meadow, and how some just naturally take over – some are “aggressive” and shade out others, while some have simply a shorter lifespan. Seed dispersal along with effects of dry weather or too much rain affect the meadow’s natural evolution. “I know landscapers have a hard time describing this to clients. It’s tough to explain that what you see in a professional botanic garden takes a lot of maintenance, patience, and even some ability to pivot on your expectations,” she clarifies, as she discusses her multi-year affiliation with Dr. Neal on the research conducted at Woodman Farm, UNH Campus, on plants that might be preferred in a meadow design and upkeep plan.

The meadow project began in response to questions from landscapers looking to the Extension to help with frequent client requests. Many NHLA members have benefitted from that project, by attending several twilight meetings at Woodman Farm over the duration of the project.

Her interest in big trees – landscape trees – with stronger root structures for successful transplanting continued with other UNH Coop Extension projects. Certain mesh bags have been studied, showing how the need for a tree spade is eliminated, making larger trees more accessible to landscapers and their respective clients. She’s interested in the resurgence of interest in native trees, such as the oaks and birches, which play an important role in our ecosystems.

Studying trees for municipal uses, she reports she wished people knew more about what goes on below ground for tree success as well as other plants and long-term viability. Soil biology, and root development are the basis for any plant’s health and street appeal. Papineau is also interested in what she feels is a misconception about lawns. Lawns don’t need more fertilizer; they need healthy soil! She can outline the multitude of reasons this is the case, based on her understanding of the mindset and tension between those who want rich, deep green grass and those who tolerate “weeds” in their lawns and replace some grass with perennials or shrubbery for wildlife. She is very articulate about property owners’ needs varying over time and being mindful and respectful of when a lawn brings joy for playing outdoors, giving respite from a busy day by offering an expansive green vista, or offering a pleasing backdrop for a larger view of trees lining a property boundary. She shares the multifaceted view about lawns and would like people to know grassy lawns do a lot to have healthy root structures keep soil lightened up and provide the biome needed for other insects and beneficial aspects of the active habitat where we never see it. A healthy lawn can even out compete weed seeds when blades of grass are allowed to grow to a 3” height and shade out seeds, even protecting against erosion when other plants (some clover for instance) die back after frost.

Amy Papineau is well-known for her work spanning New Hampshire from the Canadian border in the north, to the seacoast and fully east-west, as well. While we might think of her as a strong team member and major contributor to NHLA’s Education Committee, her job title is “Extension Field Specialist in Landscape and Greenhouse Horticulture.” That is nearly as varied as the territory she serves!

When asked about her typical day, she makes sure it’s clear there is no such thing as a typical day, and because of the variety of projects, advice, presentations, and people she meets, she loves her job. When asked about what sort of things she does in the field, her answer is quick and surprising. She recently was in Jefferson, NH, at Santa’s Village. She was there to help the groundskeeping staff learn more about pruning the plants which are integral to the soft, lush nature of the park. She helped the staff consider things while pruning, such as clearing sight lines on pathways and sidewalks, along with the care of plants.

This is just a smattering of what she does in the field and hearing her talk about it, you could almost be jealous of the team at Santa’s Village getting to learn firsthand about the various considerations beyond simply deadheading flowers. Her knowledge comes from the early days at UNH, through her internship at Longwood Gardens, and work in the private sector and landing back “with us” working in NH.

Amy Papineau, as an advisor, committee member, and professional, embodies that title of her first class introducing her to her career, “The Power of Plants.” We’re sure glad that calculus class was full and in that filler class, she found her Super Power!

~ by Cris Blackstone. Chris maintains her NHCLP #97 through numerous presentations on some of her favorite landscape themes, for garden clubs and other professional organizations. Her garden and landscape photography has earned awards from Mass Hort Society as well as the National Federation of Press Women. She’s an appointed member of the NH DES Waste Management Commission, keeping in line with her interests in conservation and ecology representing conservation commissions across the state. With no favorite season, she says each offers time to read, write, and take photographs.