Lee Schneller Sligh
                                                   (Maiden name:  Lee Sligh)

Professional Experience

    Owner, Lee Schneller Fine Gardens.  1995 – present.  Fine gardening business
    specializing in designing and building Japanese-inspired, naturalistic and
    continuously blooming perennial gardens.  Designed and built over 200 gardens.

    Japanese Translator.  Free-lance.  1989 – 1995 (full time); 1982 – 1989 (part time).

    Computer Consultant.  Cape Cod Planning and Economic Development Commission,
    Barnstable, Massachusetts.  1984 – 1985.

    Translator, Editor and Technical Writer.  Free-lance.  Tokyo, Japan.  1983 – 1984.

    English Teacher (ESL).  Sendai & Tokyo, Japan.  1980 – 1983.

Education

    Kyoto University of Art and Design, “The Japanese Garden – Intensive Seminar,” Kyoto,
    Japan, September – October 2003.

    University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Master Gardener course, 1997.

    Asahi Culture Center (Tokyo, Japan), Intensive courses in Japanese language, 1983.

    Nankai University (Tianjin, China) Intensive program in Chinese language, 1980.

    Michigan State University, B.A., Chinese Language and Literature, 1980 (with honor).

    Michigan State University, B.A., Asian History, 1980 (with honor).

    Honors and Scholarships (at MSU):  Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Alpha Theta,
    Shao-chang Lee Scholarship.

    Rotary International Exchange Student, Fukuchiyama, Japan, 1974.

Talks and Workshops Given     (64 talks & workshops, 2002 - 2009)

Perennial Garden Design Talks and Workshops   (38 talks, 2002 - 2009):

   “Designing Continuously Blooming Perennial Gardens”:
    12 Workshops (totaling over 300 attendees), 2004 - 2009.     
    21 Talks:
           Warren Garden Club, Warren, Maine, 2004
           Sigma Phi Sorority, Thomaston, Maine, 2004
           Maine State Prison, Warren, Maine, 2005
           North Haven Garden Club, North Haven, Maine, 2007
           Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show, 2009
           Connecticut Flower & Garden Show, 2009
           Chicago Flower & Garden Show, 2009
           Ocean County Library, Toms River, New Jersey, 2009
           Copperfield's Books, Sebastopol, California, 2009
           Chaucer's Books, Santa Barbara, California, 2009
           Chester County Book & Music Company, West Chester, Pennsylvania, 2009
           Rockland Public Library, Rockland, ME, 2009
           Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vermont, 2009
           Alamo Theater, Bucksport, Maine, 2009
           Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine, 2009
           Harpswell Garden Club, Harpswell, Maine, 2009
                   Frye Island Garden Club, Frye Island, Maine, 2009
                Northeast Harbor Library, Northeast Harbor, Maine, 2009
                Seacoast Garden Club, Kennebunkport, Maine, 2009
                Belfast Garden Club, Belfast, Maine, 2009
                Camden Garden Club, Camden, Maine, 2009
             
    “Victorian Garden Talk,” (4 Talks),Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine.
    At the historic Farnsworth Victorian Garden, researched, designed and
    planted by Lee Schneller. 2002 - 2003.

    “Putting Your Garden to Bed,” (Talk), Merryspring Nature Park, Camden, Maine,
    2004.

   Japanese Garden Talks    (26 talks, 2003 - 2009):

      "Japanese Gardens, Ancient and Modern," (3 Talks), West Bay Rotary, Camden,
            Maine, 2008; Rockland Public Library, Rockland, Maine, 2008;
            Maine Media Women, 2009.

       "Gardens of Shoguns and Samurai," (Talk), Merryspring Nature Park, Camden,
            Maine, 2007.

       "Japanese Gardens: The Meaning of Water," (2 Talks), American Association of
            University Women, Rockland, Maine, 2006; Coastal Maine Botanical Garden,
            Boothbay, Maine, 2007.

      “Japanese-Inspired Gardens in the United States,” (2 Talks), Merryspring Nature
            Park, Camden, Maine, 2006; Rockland Public Library, 2006.

       “Introduction to Written Chinese and the Tao Te Ching,” (Talk), The 19th Annual
            Camden Conference, Camden, Maine, 2006.

       "Creating Japanese-Inspired Gardens in Maine," (8 Talks), Garden Club Federation
            of Maine, Annual Conference, Bar Harbor, Maine, 2006;
            Merryspring Nature Park, Camden, Maine, 2006;
            14th Annual Maine Garden Day (hosted by University of Maine Cooperative
            Extension), Auburn, Maine, 2007;
            Spring Garden Celebration (hosted by Waldo County Cooperative Extension),
            Unity, Maine, 2007;
            Jackson Memorial Library, Tenants Harbor, Maine, August, 2007;
            Maine Master Gardener Statewide Conference, Orono, Maine, 2007;
            Japan-America Society of Maine, Brunswick, Maine, 2007;
            Garden Group of Orono, Orono, Maine, 2008.

       “Spirituality and Religion in Japanese Gardens,” (2 Talks), Avena Institute,
            Camden, Maine, 2005 - 2006.

       “Choosing Plants and Materials for Japanese-Inspired Gardens in Maine,” (Talk),
            Georges River Land Trust Garden Tour, Thomaston, Maine, 2004.

       “Japanese Gardens:  Aesthetics and Design Features,” (6 Talks):
      • Belfast Garden Club, Belfast, ME, 2005
       • Merryspring Nature Park, Camden, ME, 2003 - 2004
       • Owls Head Garden Club, Owls Head, ME, 2004
       • Olde Bristol Garden Club, Damariscotta, ME, 2004
       • Master Gardener Awards Banquet, Waldoboro, ME, 2004

Publications

    The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden: A Blueprint for Continuous Color. North Adams,
    Massachusetts: Storey Publishing, 2009.

    "Aquilegia vulgaris 'Nora Barlow': 'Nora Barlow' Columbine is Never Gaudy." Fine
    Gardening, no. 125 (February 2009): 24.

    “Use a Simple Grid to Plan for Continuous Blooms.” Fine Gardening, no. 95 (February
    2004): 18.

    Tool and product reviews, Fine Gardening, 2004 to present.

    “Creating Japanese-Inspired Gardens in Maine.”  Spring Home and Garden (Courier
    Publications), April 28, 2005, pp. 3 and 31.

    “All About Bulbs.”  Fall Home and Garden (Courier Publications), Sept. 22, 2005, p. 8.

Live Radio Interviews
WOBM 92.7, Ocean County [New Jersey] Breakfast Show (15 min. 3/2/09)
News 95.7, Weekend Gardener with Niki Jabbour [Halifax, Nova Scotia] (45 min. 6/21/09)
KSFO 560, In the Garden with host Bob Tanem [San Francisco] (30 min., 10/18/09)
WRFR 93.3 Rockland [Maine], Open Book with host Jonathan Kosnow (60 min., 2/3/10)

Courses/Talks/Symposia Attended
  • "Garden Writers Association Annual Symposium," Portland, Oregon, 2008.
  • "Tuckerman's Ravine," a tour of alpine plants at Mount Washington's famed
    glacial cirque, led by New Hampshire State Botanist Chris Mattrick and
    sponsored by New England Wildflower Society, August 2007.
  • “In Search of Fairy Isle Fantasies: The Gardens of the Meiji Period,” Talk by Marc
    Peter Keane, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, February 2006.
  • “The Path Beyond the Transient World: Japanese Tea Gardens Ancient and
    Modern,” Talk by Marc Peter Keane, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University,
    February 2006.
  • “Digital Garden Photography Seminar,” Workshop with Ian Adams, Arnold
    Arboretum of Harvard University, October 2005.
  • “Cultivating the Written Word: Garden Writing from Production to Publication,"
    four-day workshop with C. Colston Burrell and Lucy Hardiman, New England
    Wildflower Society, November 9 - 12, 2004.
  • “Fourth International Symposium of Japanese Gardens,” International
    Association of Japanese Gardens, Seattle, Washington, August 28 – 31, 2004.
  • “Elegant, Exceptional and Ecological Gardens for the Northeast,” Symposium,
    New England Wildflower Society, April 2004.
  • “Maintaining Mature Trees: Success Stories from Mount Auburn Cemetery,” Talk
    by David Barnett, New England Grows Show, Boston, February 2004.
  • “The Use of Mycorrhizal Fungi in the Landscape,” Talk by Michael Amaranthus
    and Kevin Burrows, New England Grows Show, Boston, February 2004.
  • “A New Continental Style for American Gardens,” Talk by Lauren Springer, New
    England Grows Show, Boston, February 2004.
  • “The Bare Root Transplanting Method: Lessons from the Streets of Ithaca, NY,”
    Talk by Nina Bassuk and Andrew Hillman, New England Grows Show, Boston,
    Feb. 2004.
  • “Environmentalism and Design,” Symposium, Harvard University, March 2003.
  • “The Art of the Japanese Garden,” Symposium, Arnold Arboretum, May 2002.
  • “The Gray Area: Restoration and Landscape Gardening,” Workshop with Larry
    Weiner, New England Wildflower Society, February 2001.
Memberships
    Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University                        
    Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens
    Garden Writers Association                                
    Georges River Land Trust                                
    International Association of Japanese Gardens
    Japan America Society of Maine
    Maine Audubon Society
    Merryspring Nature Park
    New England Wildflower Society
Volunteer Work      (Garden-related)
  • Asticou Azalea Garden (Japanese-inspired garden in Northeast Harbor, Maine)
  • JGarden.org (researching and writing Japanese garden descriptions; photographs)
  • Farnsworth Art Museum (Rockland, Maine; also as paid gardener)
  • Humane Society of Knox County (Rockland, Maine)
Resume