Remembering the Man with Chlorophyll in his Veins

WUNC | By Frank Stasio,

Katy Barron

Published December 7, 2016 at 12:12 PM EST

J.C. Raulston in his famous "Green Man" jacket. Sewn by a volunteer, it is a replica of a jacket worn by David Byrne in a well-known Annie Leibovitz photograph.

Horticulturist J.C. Raulston died in 1996, but his legacy lives on at the North Carolina State University arboretum that bears his name, the nine plants named in his honor, and all over the backyards and nurseries of North Carolina.

Last fall, he was posthumously inducted into the Raleigh Hall of Fame. An exhibit currently on display at N.C. State’s D.H. Hill library celebrates Raulston’s life and work. It is based largely on the biography, “Chlorophyll in his Veins,” (BJW Books/2009) by Bobby J. Ward.

We remember legendary horticulturist J.C. Raulston with biographer Bobby J. Ward and exhibit librarian Molly Renda.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with Ward and exhibit librarian Molly Renda about the horticulture evangelist J.C. Raulston and his widespread impact on the people and plants of North Carolina. The exhibit, “Plan-And Plant For A Better World,” is on display through December 31st in the exhibit gallery at the D.H. Hill Library at N. C. State University. The arboretum grounds are open year round.