David Daehnke Bio

David Daehnke has currently been the Executive Director of three Botanical Gardens He brought a number of improvements to all three, including successfully increasing staff, visitors and fundraising efforts, creating a Long Range Planning documents, and maintaining continued growth and stability.

Before an Executive Director, David was the landscape supervisor at the James A. McFaul Environmental Center where he was responsible for the management and operation of a ½-acre nursery, chief grant writer for horticultural projects, and educator of programs for public and private groups. David also developed and produced the park’s first horticultural newsletter, The Horticultural Harbinger, and designed new gardens and created the largest public collection of ornamental grasses in New Jersey.

David was also general manager of Ramapo Landscape Supply, a wholesale/retail/distributor of horticultural supplies, increasing sales 42% in his three year tenure.

Previously David owned his own successful landscape design, maintenance and build firm for over 10 years.  It was in this experience that he decided to communicate to  people the joys of gardening and how they could accomplish the same results on their own, assisting the growing DIY segment of homeowners in New Jersey.

He received his Degree in Ornamental Horticulture at Delaware Valley College. Currently, he is an advisory board member for the Horticulture department at Bergen Community College in New Jersey.

David is widely known from his radio show “The Gardening Guru” on WGHT 1500 AM, and he is a horticultural consultant on his Internet Web page, www.thegardeningguru.com.  He can also be heard monthly on Martha Stewarts' Sirius Radio Show "Morning Living" with Betsy Karetnick and Kim Fernandez on Sirius Channel 112.