Rick Darke spent 20 years at Longwood Gardens where he worked his way up to curator of plants. This led him to use his encyclopedic knowledge of plants and ecosystems to travel the world as a plant explorer. 

Today he works as an independent landscape design consultant, author, lecturer, and photographer based in Pennsylvania who blends art, ecology, and cultural geography in the creation and conservation of livable landscapes. He has consulted and collaborated on numerous public landscapes from New York’s High Line to Sussex's Gravetye Manor.

A gifted communicator and photographer, Rick shares his love of plants and garden design through numerous books, lectures, talks, and tours.

GCA medalists Piet Oudolf and Doug Tallamy are the co-authors of two of Rick's nine books. His books, The American Woodland Garden and The Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes won American Horticultural Society’s Book Awards.

Whether he is teaching students at the University of Delaware or speaking to a garden club, he challenges and engages his audience.

Rick deeply cares for plants and the gardeners who love them and is committed to sharing his vast knowledge to cultivate livable landscapes both large and small for all.