When Shaun Broderick was 12 years old, the family dog decided to destroy the garden and unknowingly piqued Broderick’s interest in horticulture.

“After our golden retriever tore up our garden, my parents let me order plants and seeds from catalogs, which I pored over for hours, reading about each plant,” he said.

Around the same time, an eighth-grade science class sparked his curiosity in genetics.

“We studied seedless oranges, hairless mice and Mendel’s peas. I knew I wanted my future career to combine horticulture and genetics,” he said.

Today, Broderick is an associate research and extension professor in Mississippi State’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, where he oversees ornamental crops research at the Truck Crops Branch in Crystal Springs, part of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, or MAFES. The Orem, Utah native took a leap of faith when applying for the role in 2014.

“A friend sent me a link to the position as I was wrapping up my Ph.D. in Ohio, and the job seemed specifically tailored for me. I interviewed, and it felt like a perfect fit,” he said.

Broderick and his wife of 18 years now call Mississippi home with their two daughters and two sons.

“My wife was skeptical at first, moving so far from her family in Idaho and knowing nothing about Mississippi, but we’ve loved it here and made it a great home,” he said.

That sense of home extends to the station itself.

“It’s a beautiful station on 175 acres with fields, greenhouses, fruit and pine tree plots, and high tunnels,” he said. “We have great personnel.”

The station includes two additional full-time faculty, six staff members, one part-time staff member and two graduate students.

No two days look the same and can include evaluating trial garden entries, conducting tissue culture experiments, answering client questions and writing grants. Broderick embraces his job’s variety.

“Plants are the colors that paint landscapes,” he said. “We evaluate more than 100 ornamental entries each year for landscape performance. We also conduct field experiments, such as studying how cover crops and soil steaming impact crop production.”

The MAFES scientist’s research focuses on breeding ornamental plants with an emphasis on native varieties for Mississippi landscapes, from spring annuals and perennials to poinsettias.

The station shares that work with the community through events like its summer field day.

“Our summer field day includes a walking tour of the trial garden to give visitors a first look at plant materials that haven’t been released yet,” Broderick said. “It’s a sneak peek at what’s coming next, paired with seminars on topics from insect management to hydroponics and floral design.”

On the Extension side, he supports greenhouse production, plant propagation and regional plant selection.

Still, his favorite part of the job is simple.

“I love watching new plants grow,” he said. “It never gets old to watch a seed germinate or to see tissue culture initiate from callused tissue. I also love being the first to see new plants from the hybridizations, or cross-pollinations, we’ve conducted.”