
Dr. Ari Novy became interested in plants when he volunteered as a gardener at an Italian villa. When he returned to the US, he was determined to learn everything about plants and flowers, and ultimately received a Ph.D. in plant science at Rutgers University. Today, he is an award-winning, nationally recognized plant biologist and researcher and President and CEO of the San Diego Botanic Garden. “Plants and flowers elicit a visceral response,” says Novy. “They are familiar yet exotic, rarified…