Ashby Leavell
Ashby Leavell hails from Charlottesville, Virginia. Growing up on small farm, she developed her love of horticulture through her father’s avid interest in all things green. While pursuing a French major and a Landscape Architecture minor at the University of Virginia, Ashby served as the undergraduate representative on UVA’s Landscape and Arboretum Committee.
Upon graduation in 2007, she began as a seasonal gardener at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. The job led to an internship at Kew Gardens in London, where she worked with local school groups and also the Tropical Nursery. Afterwards, Ashby spent the summer off the Cornish coast interning in the subtropical paradise of Tresco Abbey Gardens.
Back in the states, she spent a year in Portland, Oregon working with AmeriCorps. She served on a stream restoration field team and independently designed a wildflower monitoring database for Portland’s Metro Native Plant Center. She then spent the spring working at James Madison’s Montpelier before coming to Longwood. On a personal note, her hobbies include music, dance, and plant medicine.
Student Position: Symposium Leader
Board Position: Morris Arboretum
