The degree of Arizona Certified Nursery Professional, ACNP, means working over two years as a professional in a garden center, greenhouse, or botanical garden, and extremely prestigious among those in horticulture. Maricopa Community College, in partnership with the Arizona Nursery Associations, created this program to test plant skills. It proves all aspects of garden knowledge from tissue cultures, fertilizer details, insect expertise, water, soils, and the most intimate plant details.
Amy Langley, manager at Watters Garden Center, received her ANCP degree in January. Not only did Amy pass the grueling 4-hour test, but she received one of the highest scores in Arizona for all of 2020.
“When you can identify a plant, recite the Latin name, where it ideally grows, and how to design a landscape around that plant, you are a real plant professional,” says Ken Lain, owner of Watters Garden Center.
Amy Langley traded palm trees for pine trees when she left her job at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii and moved to Prescott. Her love of plants immediately drew her to a position at Watters. Devoted dog mom, lover of all things outdoors, and sci-fi reader, you can ask her professional plant questions most days of the week at Watters Garden Center.
Watters Garden Center is a locally owned and operated garden center that specializes in providing avid gardeners and novices alike with the expertise and products to get things growing in the mountains of Arizona.
