People Type: Hort Tech

Xylona Merrell Brownfield joined the Botany Garden and Greenhouse team in August of 2025 as a Horticulture Technician. She graduated from UW-Madison with her bachelor’s degree in Horticulture and previously worked in dicot transformation. Xylona is responsible for plant production, and she supports Botany courses by fulfilling plant requests. She is happy to be back …

Nick Ruby is our Horticulture Technician that helps manage care of the Botany Garden and works to maintain Botany Greenhouse plants year-round. He has been with us for almost 10 years. Nick grew up in Verona around farming and crop production. He is becoming an expert in organic lawn care in the Botany Garden. He …