By Angela Haigler
When I think of Dr. Larry Mellichamp, I think of a kind, smart man with a wicked sense of humor who was an inspirational teacher and leader. I met him around the time I became insatiably interested in native plants. This was soon after I purchased my first home in 1998. Around that time, University of North Carolina Charlotte and Mecklenburg County partnered to host workshops about creating carefree gardens using native plants. The lazy gardener that I was, that thought excited me. “You mean there’s a way to garden where you leave the plants in the ground, and you don’t have to dig them up and replant them the next year, and this method is also good for the environment? Sign me up!” I said.
I wasn’t able to make that workshop, but I met Mary Stauble, who gave me a personal tour of her garden, and then I met Jean Woods who looped me in to help out as chair of the Southern Piedmont NCNPS chapter and next thing you know Larry Mellichamp was riding along with us to the board meetings and we began having the S. Piedmont chapter meetings at UNC Charlotte in the Botanical Garden classroom, often with Larry or Assistant Director Paula Gross on site. The rest, as they say, is history, as Larry became a permanent fixture in the North Carolina Native Plant Society, helping to sell plants at the annual picnic and partnering with the Society to have an academically recognized Native Plant certificate program.
He Explained How Plants Protect the Earth
Larry encouraged creativity in others. He was always down for the next adventure. For one of our NCNPS Charlotte chapter meetings, I asked Larry to help me create a program called “Weed or Worthwhile?” In the description, I asked folks to look for plants they couldn’t identify that popped into their yards, and Larry would help us to understand a bit about said plant. He started off explaining that some plants we call weeds were plants that were good for the earth in various ways, such as Sweetgum trees. He also shared how other plants made their way into our landscape, like Queen Anne’s Lace, and were taking over. It wasn’t just a program about weeds, it became a botanical history lesson in a way that only Larry could pull off. He was such a treasure in our midst. The program was a success thanks to his willingness to teach and spread the learning.
Larry taught from the heart; it came naturally to him. His very being expanded and his eyes sparkled with delight when he shared his knowledge with others – we felt the excitement. His love of teaching, combined with all the lessons that needed to be shared about native plants, made for a perfect partnership that birthed the Certificate in Native Plant Studies, Larry’s recent books about native plants, and the emerald in the center of the crown, Mellichamp Native Terrace, a UNC Charlotte Botanical Garden installation that shows us how to landscape using native plants.
When you give a great teacher like Dr. Larry Mellichamp a steady throng of interested, hungry students, he will feed them as much as they are willing to eat. Larry kept us fed and asked us if we wanted seconds. I feel grateful and blessed to have had the opportunity to know him. It’s beautiful to know that his many contributions will carry on, though we will miss him dearly.
Angela M. Haigler, Charlotte (NCNPS Southern Piedmont Chapter). NCNPS Southern Piedmont Chapter chair 2005-2008.