Botany Buff

Overlooking the Vanderbilt University quadrangle, Jonathan Ertelt is in a world of his own as he manages seven of the school’s greenhouses. His passion for plants began when he nurtured a sweet potato vine and, as a college student, got his first orchid to flower. The plants don’t belong to him, but he perseveres through a ragweed allergy and frustration with program funding because they have grown on him.
During a visit to the greenhouses on April 7, 2008, Ertelt describes how his love of botany extends to his home life. His house is a jungle of shoots, sprouts and shrubs. His wife draws pictures of plants. His son is “botanically correct.” He has rooted his family in the plant kingdom.