It is with great sadness that I announce that my father, Wayne Mezitt, passed away peacefully earlier this week with my mom and our family there by his side.

Wayne was a traditional nurseryman and grew up working with plants. He was a nationally renowned and influential horticulturist who dedicated his long career to making gardening more accessible to the average homeowner through improved plant varieties that do well in New England climates. He was a mentor to many of the region’s leading horticulture professionals, sharing his enthusiasm and expertise to anyone he encountered. He loved to write and spent many hours every year writing plant descriptions and information that was accurate for this region. A member of the Garden Writers Association, he has contributed articles to the Boston Globe, Fine Gardening, and Yankee Magazine. Most recently, in 2023, he and my mom released a new book, “For the Love of Gardening”, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the company.

Wayne held positions within many well-known horticultural organizations locally and nationally. He received many awards which recognized his contributions to horticulture, including most recently the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Gold Medal award and the Worcester County Horticultural Society’s Cary Award, both in 2023.

Wayne’s passing was due to babesiosis, one of three common tick-borne diseases in Massachusetts. It is carried by the blacklegged tick (often referred to as deer tick). Due to his illness, he was not able to write his weekly “Ask the Garden Guy” article for the Boston Globe. However, we know that he would want us to share the latest article written during his absence, which covers ticks, tick-borne diseases, and how to reduce exposure.

Throughout this month-long ordeal, we all supported him, my mom and each other. We are a close family and we have become even closer during these days. We will miss his sense of humor, optimistic approach to everything, and the values he stood for as a person. It will be incredibly hard for quite some time to not have him around as he was a big part of our lives. We will miss him, and we will never forget the way he lived his life: full of zest and passion with everyone he interacted with. He taught us so much and we will all carry a piece of him in our hearts.

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support during this difficult time. Services will be held on July 30th at the Chesmore Funeral Home in Hopkinton. His full obituary is also available here.

Peter Mezitt