Meet Larry Hurley
Larry, the editor of the Behnke Nurseries’ print newsletter, the Behnke GardeNews, joined Behnkes in 1984. Larry grew up in Wisconsin, where he earned a BS in Zoology and an MS in horticulture at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. During and following his schooling, he worked as a lab technician in a plant tissue culture lab, and as a houseplant expert at Felly’s Flowers.
In 1984, after a six-year stint in Dallas as inventory controller for Nortex, a large wholesale grower, Larry came to Behnkes. He spent 12 years at our former Largo, MD facility, where he alternated between our retail store and perennial production.In 1996 he moved to our administrative offices at Beltsville. In addition to his work on our newsletter, he is also the buyer for the perennial department. In this capacity, he determines which perennials Behnke Nurseries grows at our Lothian, Maryland nursery as well as which perennials we purchase from our other fine suppliers.
Along with John Peter Thompson, Behnke Nurseries Chairman of the board, Larry has been active in developing the Behnke Nurseries native plant program (“Baysafe Plants”) and in reducing Behnke’s invasive ornamental plant offerings.
Larry and his wife carolyn, a professor at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Cancer Center spend most of their free time traveling. His other hobbies include photography and of course, gardening.
