Yasmine Baker at the UMD Research Green House
Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
As a little girl, IAA Ornamental Horticulture student Yasmine Baker was either outside playing with friends in her Silver Spring neighborhood or she was attending to her mother’s small but bountiful backyard garden. Her mom who grew up on a farm in the Philippines instilled the passion of planting in her daughter at a young age.
“I can recall the days when I was in grade school and my mother would explain how the plant propagates from stem cuttings. Much of the vegetable harvest--tomatoes, okra, spinach and kale--would wind up on our family’s dinner table.” said Yasmine. The garden served as both a source of food and herbal healing. At the onset of a sniffle or cough, the Bakers didn’t go to drugstore but instead to the family garden.
“Chamomile flowers and leaves have been brewed for centuries as a fragrant tea often regarded as a medicinal cure all,” explains Yasmine.
Upon graduating from high school in 2007, Yasmine enrolled at UMD as a graphics art major. But after two years in the program, she decided to go back to her roots when her mother informed her that the IAA offered a major in Ornamental Horticulture. It didn’t take long for her to realize she made the right decision. Yasmine says that Introduction to Plant Science, one of her first IAA courses, helped grow her interest in the horticultural field.
“My professor Ken Ingram who is also my advisor, made the class so fascinating. I learned about the origin and evolution of plant life, not just in the classroom but also out in the community. Some of my fondest memories at the IAA were going on plant walks with classmates, discovering the “Chesapeake Natives” and also rolling up our sleeves and helping out, weeding and planting in area neighborhoods.”
Yasmine was also able to put her “hands on” horticultural talents to good use on campus. During her first year at IAA, the first seeds were planted for the new IAA Teaching Garden. She takes pride in knowing she was a part of the crew that helped make the garden into the great site it is today.
Despite her busy school and work schedule, this Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation scholarship recipient, completed her internship at The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. where she “was able to get a greater appreciation of the connection between art and horticulture and the aesthetic beauty the plant world offers.”
Yasmine has been called upon to share her passion for plants by being asked to give public speaking presentations. She said The IAA also prepared her well for that task by taking IN AG 110 Oral Communications.
“I think it’s a great idea that the University has now made the class a general education requirement. No matter what you plan to do with the rest of your life, being able to effectively express yourself is so important.”
In December when she completes the IAA program, Yasmine says she is considering pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture and Crop Production at UMD. One thing is certain about Yasmine Baker’s future-- her passion for horticulture will continue to bloom.
