Horticulture Division

Agriculture Department

Mon. & Tues. 3-6 PM

Wed. & Thurs. 10 AM-1 PM

Fri. by Appointment

Growing up on a ranch south of Muenster, TX, Ashley first developed a love for agriculture, particularly horticulture.  Coming from a large family of Aggies, Ashley chose to attend Texas A&M University where she earned a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology.  In spite of enjoying the study of human behavior, she kept coming back to her first love - gardening. 

Upon graduation, she moved to Pine Mountain, Georgia where she worked at Callaway Gardens, one of the South’s premiere gardens and resorts and the home of PBS's "The Victory Garden."  In their Department of Horticulture Education, Ashley focused on teaching various horticulture, environmental, and natural history seminars as well as leading hiking excursions where she taught about Appalachian flora and fauna. 

From there, Ashley returned to Texas A&M University to earn her Master’s Degree in Horticulture Science, focusing her research on People-Plant Interactions, which combined her background in Psychology with her love of plant studies.  While working on her graduate degree, Ashley taught several horticulture labs and was then chosen to be a lecturer in the Horticulture Department. 

It was during graduate school that Ashley felt called to go back to Appalachia and serve as an Americorps volunteer and missionary.  After completing a two-year stint in the remote, coal-mining mountains of West Virginia as well as the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn, New York, Ashley decided to once again make Cooke County her home. 

Ashley recently purchased her grandparent’s old farmhouse and has more refinishing projects than she can handle!  Besides refinishing her home, she enjoys spending time on the farm, playing the guitar, hiking, volunteering at church, traveling, beekeeping, sudoku puzzles (they’re so addictive!), and spending time with her family.

Classes