M ichael Guidi is Manager of Horticulture Research Programs at Denver Botanic Gardens, where he sits between scientific research, ecological theory and the daily reality of growing plants in a dry, continental climate. He came to horticulture from field biology, with a BS in Biology from Ithaca College and an MS in Ecology from Colorado State University, and his interests run from plant breeding and direct-seeded vegetation to green infrastructure and the biology of the world's temperate shrublands.
His argument — patiently made in the gardens at Denver, in lectures and in the field — is that the much-overlooked shrubland deserves a central place in the contemporary garden: hardy, adaptable, and quietly suited to a warming, drying climate. In 2026 the work was recognised by the American Horticultural Society's Great American Gardeners Awards.
With Kevin Philip Williams he co-authored Shrouded in Light, a design-led account of what wild shrublands — sagebrush, rabbitbrush, the chaparral and beyond — can teach a gardener about resilient, low-water planting. He has spoken about the book on Cultivating Place and at the Garden Museum in London.
