Portfolio: Scott Medal winner

Nina Bassuk, a horticulture professor at Cornell University, is the 2008 recipient of the Scott Medal, given annually by Scott Arboretum, for her "national contributions to the art and science of gardening."

Bassuk is a tree lady with a passion for cities. For almost three decades, she has worked on finding tough plants to withstand stressful urban landscapes, and on making those landscapes less stressful. She developed something called "structural soil," for example, that permits tree roots to survive in compacted soil under sidewalks.

"That revolutionized urban tree planting," says Jamie Blackburn, curator of woodland gardens at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, who studied with Bassuk and nominated her for the award.

Bassuk, 56, traces her interest in urban trees to her New York City childhood. "I feel working on street trees and urban trees is a very democratic thing, where you get the most benefit for the most number of people," she says. "Trees really make cities livable."

She is the 53d recipient of the Scott Medal, which dates to 1930 and honors Arthur Hoyt Scott, in whose memory the arboretum was established at Swarthmore College the year before. Scott, Class of 1895, was an amateur horticulturist with a fondness for peonies and lilacs.

The eight-member selection committee typically receives five to 10 nominations. Marvin Pritts, Bassuk's colleague from Cornell, recommended her this way: "I can think of no one who has poured their heart and soul into the field of horticulture as much as Nina Bassuk."

Bassuk has lectured at and visited Scott often, and was a good friend of former arboretum director Judy Zuk, who died in September.

She will receive her medal and $12,000 cash prize March 15 at 4 p.m. at the college's Lang Performing Arts Center. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested by Thursday. Call 610-328-8025.

- Virginia A. Smith