February 19-23, 2025

Seattle Convention Center

705 Pike Street, Seattle, WA

2024 Speakers at a Glance

Name: Official Northwest Flower & Garden Festival
Start: 0001-01-01
End: 0001-01-01
Location: Seattle Convention Center

Here are all of the gardening luminaries coming who will be appearing at the 2024 Northwest Flower & Garden Festival.

Want to know more about a speaker? Simply click on their name to find their biography, and either a pop up box will appear or scroll down to the bottom of the Speaker list and the information will be there.

The speakers are listed below alphabetically by last name. All seminars are FREE with your ticket! No ticket refunds for Speaker cancellation.

Ann Amato

Horticulturist, Production Manager at Secret Garden Growers and blogger, amateurbotannist.com

Ann Amato lives in Portland, Oregon and is a horticulturist and Production Manager at Secret Garden Growers in Canby. At 18, she published the book Ancient Forests and Western Man: A Pictorial History of the West Coast. Later, she earned a BA from Portland State University with a double major in English literature and art history. She has been a garden blogger (amateurbotannist.com) for over a decade and is the recipient of two Oregon Nurseries Foundation Scholarships. She is the former President of the Mount Hood Gesneriad Society, an affiliated chapter of The Gesneriad Society and was a part-time seed propagator at Cistus Nursery for nearly 7 years. She has appeared on “Garden Time TV,” was interviewed for Wonderground (formerly The Planthunter in Australia), and has a guest on several podcasts. When not working, she tends to her houseplant collection at home, many of which are either gesneriads or begonias. (There are over 500 different plants in her indoor plant collection.) She also tends to her small urban garden named Campiello Maurizio: the Garden of One-of-each-ee. www.amateurbotannist.com

Heather Andrews

Award-winning pollinator garden designer, photographer, and garden writer.

Heather Andrews is a published author, photographer, and speaker who specializes in creating sustainable native pollinator habitats for homeowners and businesses. Growing up as one of 12 grandchildren in North Carolina, Heather often took walks in her Granddaddy Andrews' acre vegetable garden, where she learned about pollinators and increasing yield.

During the growing season, you will find Heather in her monarch waystation, Cat-a-pillar Haven, videoblogging on her YouTube Channel, Garden Thoughtfully. She encourages gardeners to provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators via keystone native plants. Heather succinctly summarizes actionable information from recent clinical trials to empower others to create sustainable landscapes and pollinator paradises in their own backyard. Her expertise has made her a sought after guest contributor to podcasts, gardening programs, both radio and TV, where she shares valuable insights on pollinator gardening.

Heather has earned multiple state awards for pollinator garden design. Her award winning photographs and articles have been featured in magazines, PA state publications, and on Medium.

To follow her educational videologs, she can be found on educational gardening channel on youtube, GardenThoughtfully, or on Facebook at The Thoughtful Gardener.

Ross Bayton

Director of Heronswood Garden and horticulture author

London-born botanist and gardener Dr. Ross Bayton gained his PhD at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, studying the classification of tropical palms. He’s the author of several books on horticulture including New Trees: Introductions to Cultivation (with John Grimshaw), Plant Families: A Guide for Gardeners and Botanists (with Simon Maugham), and most recently The Gardener’s Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names, as featured in the New York Times.

Formerly the Gardening Editor of the UK’s best-selling gardening periodical, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, he is now the Director of the world-renowned Heronswood Garden in Kingston, Wa., and is developing a 5-acre garden at home in nearby Bremerton.

Evan Bean

Horticulturist and green consultant at Green Being Gardens, LLC

Evan grew up in the woods of the Pacific Northwest, learning to identify native plants from an early age at home and on hikes. They followed their father and mother around the garden from an early age, and killed their first windowsill cactus around the age of six, gaining the important lesson of learning through ones mistakes. Evan started working in horticulture at age 15, at Castle Rock Nursery, and after graduating high school, gained a Bachelor's of Science in Environmental Horticulture from Washington State University in Pullman. Evan has interned with the Smithsonian Gardens orchid collection in Washington, D.C., Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA, and Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Working a brief time as the assistant curator at Juniper Level Botanic Gardens, Evan returned home to their beloved Pacific Northwest, working for a time as propagator at Cistus Design Nursery near Portland Oregon.

Currently, Evan curates names and horticultural information for Plant Lust and provides garden consultation and fine gardening services as Green Being Gardens. The gardens Evan created at their former family home were featured in "Under Western Skies" by Jennifer Jewell and Caitlin Atkinson. In their free time, Evan enjoys hiking, kayaking, visiting gardens, and tending to their extensive houseplant collection and small outdoor container garden in Portland, OR.

Cynthia Bee

Sustainable landscapes expert, TEDx Speaker, teacher, and design thinker.

Cynthia Bee is an expert in sustainable landscapes, dedicating the past fifteen years teaching homeowners how to create high-quality landscapes that fit, rather than fight, local climates. Cynthia's popular TEDx talk, "Five Tips for Landscaping in the Environment Where You Live," advocates for simple changes in how landscapes are designed to better accommodate regional climates.

Cynthia is has spoken at conferences and events throughout the Western United States and made appearances on local television programs. As the Public Information Officer for a regional water provider, she has been able to uniquely connect and coach homeowners working on sustainable landscape transformations and is keenly aware of the challenges they face and how to develop practical solutions.

Cynthia is a proud member of a great team working to transform the statewide landscape social norm, and community ordinances, to incorporate regionally appropriate design.

Beyond the day job, Cynthia consults with a startup technology company currently developing a patent-pending plant selection app based on the planting design concepts she teaches. The goal is to make the process of landscape and planting design simpler, updateable, and locally-focused. Using the methods and tools she shares, nearly anyone can design a sustainable landscape that continues to perform beautifully over time, as thousands of past students can attest.

Cynthia holds a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Utah State University with a minor in horticulture.

Kamili Bell Hill

Planterior designer, author, and founder of PlantBlerd

A voracious reader and lover of the arts, Kamili Bell Hill is the quintessential renaissance woman. Putting her career in law on hold, she dabbled in everything from event planning to professional fundraising. It wasn’t until she decided to pursue her true passion of interior design, that Kamili’s life trajectory took off.

Often incorporating plants into her clients’ designs, she quickly realized that plants were much more than a tool in her style guide—and so, PlantBlerd was born. Combining her love for plants and design, Kamili has curated a brand in PlantBlerd across multiple social media platforms that is both inspirational and aspirational. Her combination of wit, encouragement and relatable advice has garnered her a large and loyal following.

Kamili has been featured in LA Times, CNN Underscored, Architectural Digest and Byrdie. She has worked with such brands as New York Botanical Garden, ApartmentTherapy, The Spruce, TastemadeHome and Pinterest. She was named as one to watch and a featured creator in Pinterest Predicts 2022. Her keen sense of plant styling and design earned her a spot in Apartment Therapy’s Dine By Design, a museum style exhibition featuring ten designers, interpreting a festive holiday tablescape.

Her past speaking engagements include The Great Grow Along Virtual Garden Conference, MECCACon Conference and the San Bernadino Unified School District for their Farm To School Fridays program. Her first book, "Happy Plants, Happy You" published by Cool Springs Press hits stores September 2023.

Kamili is a graduate of Fairfield University and Quinnipiac University School of Law. She lives in New Rochelle, New York with her husband, two daughters, and loads of plants.

Marianne Binetti

Stefani Bittner

Owner of Homestead Design Collective and author

Stefani Bittner, the owner of Homestead Design Collective, leads a San Francisco Bay Area landscape design firm that specializes in crafting beautiful gardens that provide harvest. Stefani is the co-author of "The Beautiful Edible Garden" (Ten Speed Press, 2013), "Harvest: Unexpected Projects Using 47 Extraordinary Garden Plants" (Ten Speed Press, 2017) and the upcoming "The Fragrant Garden " (Ten Speed Press, 2024).

Homestead Design Collective offers a unique and sophisticated approach, combining both organic farming and fine gardening skills, for people who want help creating aesthetically designed, organic edible gardens. Their services provide design, installation, and full-service organic maintenance, harvesting, bee keeping, preserving, floristry and composting services.

Homestead is the design team behind the Test Gardens for Sunset Magazine and the chef focused edible gardens for Robert Mondavi and Prisoner wineries. Their gardens can be found in commercial properties, public spaces, and private residences, and our work has been featured in San Francisco Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Vogue, Sunset Magazine, Food & Wine, Time Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, Modern Farmer, Food52, and Gardenista.com

Eliza Blank

Founder & CEO of The Sill

Eliza Blank is the Founder & CEO at The Sill, a digitally native direct-to-consumer houseplant brand. She has raised over $20 million for The Sill. Prior to launching The Sill, Eliza served as a Brand Strategist at Wolff Olins, one of the leading brand agencies in the world, and as a Brand Manager at Living Proof, a Polaris Partners backed beauty company that was acquired by Unilever in 2016. She is an advisor to Gregarious, Inc. a plant care and community app backed by Index Ventures and First Round Capital as well as Soltech Solutions, the first line of luxury plant lights. She has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, and Forbes, and in several books, including My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired. Eliza holds a BS in Media, Culture, and Communication from NYU and is a member of the Metro New York chapter of YPO.

Jessi Bloom

Award-winning author and ecological landscape designer, and owner of N.W. Bloom EcoLogical Services

Jessi Bloom is a best-selling author, award-winning ecological landscape designer, and Certified ISA Arborist. As the owner of N.W. Bloom EcoLogical Services, located near Seattle, she has been known as an innovator and leader in the field of permaculture and regenerative design, sustainable construction, and land management field for over 20 years.

Her work has been recognized and received numerous awards by government agencies, green industry organizations, and has made headlines in national media. Jessi's work has been featured in the NY Times, Better Homes & Gardens, Sunset Magazine, Disney, Martha Stewart Living, Mother Earth News, UTNE Reader, Fine Gardening Magazine and PBS’s Growing a Greener World TV. Seattle Times named Jessi a “rockstar in the ecological gardening movement“. Her work as a designer and teacher is also shared with non-profits, schools, government and includes teaching wellness for the body, mind and soul. Her books are used around the world, now in 7 languages!

She lives near Seattle with her 3 kids in their little permaculture paradise, which is full of functional gardens and rescue animals. Jessi is an appointed King County Agricultural Commissioner as we all an executive advisor for the urban forestry programs in the WA State Department of Natural Resources.

Greg Butler

Designer, educator, and owner of Design of the Times

Greg Butler has been educating and entertaining gardeners of all levels as a teacher, lecturer, writer, and garden coach for over three decades. As owner of the design and consulting firm Design of the Times, he puts an emphasis on helping his public and private clients create beautiful, functional, and low-maintenance gardens and landscapes that don't depend on pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or any other kind of synthetic tomfoolery for success.

Greg also spends an enormous amount of time arguing with his wife (also a landscape professional) about what to do in their own over-planted and somewhat neglected garden, which they have dubbed "The Garden of the Shoemaker's Children."

Greg has degrees in Horticulture and Landscape Design from Edmonds College and a Bachelor's Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington. Greg lectures throughout the Northwest and has been a guest on numerous gardening television and radio shows. He is also a frequent blogger for Swanson's Nursery.

Susan Calhoun

Author and regional reporter for Fine Gardening magazine, an award-winning garden writer, designer, and speaker

Susan joined the elite club of garden writers in 2020 with an impressive 8-page feature about a captivating garden on Bainbridge Island for Fine Gardening Magazine. Since then, Susan and several of her gardens have been featured in the print magazine as full-sized articles. Additionally, she is actively involved in numerous contributions to Tool Shed, Plant profile features, and What the Experts are Growing features.

Susan received her degree in Horticulture and Landscape Design from the Southwest Community College in 1998. She also held a garden internship at the esteemed RHS Garden Harlow Carr in England.

She is affiliated with Washing State Nursery and Landscaper's Association. In recognition of her talent, she has received numerous honors and awards, including the 8 Show Gardens at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. She was also recognized by Home Plus Magazine as one of the Top 50 Landscape Designers in 2000 and 2001.

Susan's written contributions have been featured in Sunset Magazine as well as the LA Times, Vancouver Sun, Bremerton Sun, West Sound Home and Gardens, and the Seattle Times. She has also been featured in Fine Gardening Magazine multiple times, including her 7-page feature in 2016, "Keeping it Low", as well as "Dry Shade Done Simply" in 2020, "Designing a Shade Garden with Deer" in 2021, and "Designing a Garden within the Woods" in 2022.

Susan has been a regional reported for Fine Gardening for the Pacific Northwest since 2019 and contributes articles twice a month for the online magazine. Along with this, Fine Gardening has featured her several more written pieces by Susan.

She continues to inspire readers and audiences alike to the Woodinville Garden Club on Bio Diversity in the Garden and at the Morgan Stanley Customer Appreciation Day held at the Bremerton Convention Center.

Amy Campion

Wildlife-conscious gardener and co-author, Gardening in the Pacific Northwest: The Complete Homeowner's Guide

Amy Campion has been gardening for 27 years, starting in the Cincinnati area, where she worked at a wholesale nursery for 16 years. Now, for the past 10 years, she has been gardening in Northeast Portland. Alongside Paul Bonine, Amy is the co-author of Gardening in the Pacific Northwest: The Complete Homeowner's Guide. In 2023, Amy entered the OSU Master Melittologist Apprentice program.

Amy is passionate about gardening for insects and other wildlife and is excited to share her knowledge and expertise with others, guiding them on how to create a more biodiverse garden of their own.

Leo Carver

Ayurvedic specialist, speaker and author, Growing Consciousness: The Gardener's Guide to Seeding the Soul

Author, Leo Carver (Dwarn L. Carver, Jr.), has been teaching meditation, yoga, ayurveda, natural herbalism, and other holistic wellness techniques for the past decade. He graduated from The Chopra Center (Dr. Deepak Chopra’s Wellness Education Center) with a certification in Ayurveda and works closely with his wife, keynote Chopra Center speaker, Dr. Melissa Carver. Leo is one of the coauthors of "Your Roadmap to Purpose, Desire, and Destiny" with Karson McGinley, Melissa Eisler, Michelle S. Fondin, and Tris Thorp. Leo has written for several wellness-related blogs, including Chopra Global. He and Melissa produce annual retreats such as their signature Rejuvenation Retreat and are very active in the community, speaking at festivals, seminars, colleges, and workshops throughout their region.

Linda Chalker-Scott

WSU Horticulture Professor and author, How Plants Work and The Informed Gardener

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott has a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Oregon State University and is an ISA certified arborist and an ASCA consulting arborist. She is WSU Extension Urban Horticulturist and a Professor in the Department of Horticulture. She conducts research in applied plant and soil sciences, publishing the results in scientific articles and numerous WSU Extension fact sheets. She is currently the editor for WCISA's Western Arborist magazine, the Journal of NACAA, and Editor-in-Chief for Compost Science and Utilization.

Linda actively involves herself in enhancing the scientific literacy of her audiences by teaching them how to assess the credibility of information from print and online sources.

She also is the award-winning author of five books: the horticultural myth-busting "The Informed Gardener" (2008) and "The Informed Gardener Blooms Again" (2010) from the University of Washington Press and "Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens: Good Science - Practical Application" (2009) from GFG Publishing, Inc., and "How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do" from Timber Press (2015). Her latest book is an update of Art Kruckeberg's "Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest" from UW Press (2019), which has won several national awards since its publication.

In 2018, Linda was featured in "The Science of Gardening", a video series produced by The Great Courses. She is also one of the members of the Garden Professors, a group of academic colleagues who educate and entertain through their blog and Facebook pages. Her educational contributions to science-based information have been recognized by groups such as Garden Communicators International, the National Association of County Agricultural Agents, and the International Society for Arboriculture.

Janice Cox

Expert on making natural cosmetics, and author, Natural Beauty at Home and Natural Beauty for All Seasons

Janice Cox is an expert on the topic of natural beauty and crafting homemade body care products using simple kitchen and garden ingredients. She authored six best-selling books on the subject: Natural Beauty at Home, Natural Beauty for All Seasons, Natural Beauty from the Garden, Beautiful Luffa, Beautiful Lavender, and Beautiful Flowers. For more than two decades, Janice was the beauty editor for Herb Quarterly Magazine. Currently, she is the education chair for the Herb Society of America and a member of the United States Lavender Growers Association, Northwest Lavender Association and National Garden Bureau. She is a a northwest regional director for Garden Communicators International and was a guest judge of the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival in 2023. Janice lives in Medford, Oregon.

Natural Beauty at Home-Janice Cox

Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago

Proud member of

Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago

Founder of Agrochic, and author, ¡Verdura! Living a Garden Life

A gardener and professional communicator from Puerto Rico, Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago, is the founder of Agrochic.com, a gardening lifestyle platform in Spanish that promotes gardening for wellness. She is the author of the new book ¡Verdura! Living a Garden Life (October 2023), also available in Spanish, from Cool Springs Press. Perla Sofía is also the host and producer of the podcast La Verdura de Hoy.

Perla Sofía earned their degree in Psychology at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, and their masters degree in Public Relations at Universidad del Sagrado Corazón. She is certified in Horticulture Therapy from the Chicago Botanic Garden.

A media-preneur since 2007, when Perla founded their communication company Zurda Media Enterprises, to produce agricultural and gardening-related content.

In 2021, Perla Sofía was recognized by the American Horticultural Society (AHS) with the B.Y. Morrison Communication Award. Their work has appeared in several publications, like El Nuevo Día, HipLatina, The American Gardener, and Garden Center Magazine.

Perla Sofía is an active member of several organizations like Garden Communicators International, where she serves as one of the Regional Directors; the American Horticultural Therapy Association (ATHA), the American Horticultural Society (AHS), where she is a part of the Book Award Committee; founding member of the BIPOC Hort Group, the Asociación Española de Horticultura y Jardinería Social y Terapéutica (AEHJST), and, since 2022, member of the Board of Directors of KidsGardening.org.

Perla Sofía is bringing awareness, in Spanish and English, about the importance to pause and relax through a #GardenBreak, where she shares how to use strategically nature and gardening-based activities to keep up with their physical, mental, and emotional well-being, whether it is at home or in the workplace.

Kate David

Award-winning owner and designer of Hello Garden

Kate is the owner, designer, and creative force behind Hello Garden. Founded in 2016 with a goal of connecting people and plants, the business quickly evolved from a Garden Coaching initiative to a full-blown boutique Landscape and Container Design company. Today, Kate's designs can be seen throughout the greater Seattle area and Eastside in both commercial settings and private homes. They believe the foundation of good design is its ability to speak to the people who call that space home and with reverence for the ground it grows in.

Having constructed and receiving a gold medal for their debut Display Garden at the Northwest Flower and Garden Festival in 2023, they are returning again in 2024 to continue connecting with their beloved community of plant enthusiasts.

When not working with clients, Kate can be found in the garden, with their nose in a book, or cheering on their loved ones from the sidelines. They are profoundly passionate about an edible education, having written and taught an edible curriculum for elementary school children for six years, and cheerleading success no matter how big or small.

JJ De Sousa

Award-winning home and garden designer

As a garden and interior designer, JJ loves to share their passion for beautiful, functional and colorful spaces through their Portland-based business, digs inside and out. JJ is known for mixing things up: combining new with vintage, curated with custom and always eclectic. They have participated in the NWFGS from 2018-2023, including several demonstrations and the honor of Best Design Award for both “Rock the Kasbah” in 2020 and the “Balcon d’Oiseaux et Fleurs” 2023 City Living showcases.

Their client, boutique, and personal spaces have been featured in Sunset, Atomic Ranch, Garden Design, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Living, Oregon Home, The Oregonian, Mix Magazine and other publications. For over ten years I wrote a monthly garden column “The Latest Dirt” for NW Renovation magazine and have recently appeared in the French daily newspaper “Le Nouvelle Republique”.

Several years ago, JJ purchased a second home in the Loire Valley of France, where they live and garden as time permits. They have made so many wonderful friends there and discovered hidden treasures within the local chateaux, gardens, monuments, markets, and restaurants, that JJ now offers exclusive lifestyle tours to this beautiful corner of France.

Paula Douer

Paula Douer is Vice President of the Crescent Garden Company, a premier home & garden provider of plant containers, outdoor furniture, accessories and related products dedicated to ‘help you grow’ successful, inspired gardens. Paula co-founded the business in 1999 with her husband, Harry Tchira, and she takes the lead on the commercial side of the business – sales, marketing, brand management, e-commerce, and digital and social media — as well as driving the company direction on sustainability and gardening community engagement.

Paula has led the company's drive into their multichannel and their own e-commerce platforms, and successful brand extensions: TruDrop self-watering technology, the accessible Crescent Too line, Circular Positive planters made with carbon-negative material, most recently Crescent Garden inou a modular sustainably-minded outdoor furniture and many more design and technology breakthroughs. Her track record as an innovator across product, sales & marketing, and gardening advocacy is the result of ongoing curiosity about plants, gardens, and gardeners and a passion to uncover new insights and trends. She has built strong personal relationships and customer loyalty among contractors, plant experts, independent garden centers, nurseries, and gardeners who love the idea of having a successful garden, but are looking for ways to save time, explore possibilities, and increase success.

In her own time, Paula herself is an avid test-gardener, having evolved over the years from novice skills and a deep fear of killing plants, to creative and productive container gardening skills she shares with the community. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and lives in Miami Beach, Florida with Harry and her two children.

Adrienne Edwards

Teacher, landscape designer, and co-author, Firescaping Your Home

Adrienne Edwards earned her bachelor’s degree from UNC Chapel Hill in 1983, followed by master’s and PhD degrees in Botany from University of Georgia, Athens, in 1992 & 1999, respectively. She completed a post-doc at Florida International University from 1998-2000 and subsequently served as a Research Scientist at Illinois Natural History Survey from 2000 to 2006). Since 2006, she has been engaged in Environmental Consulting, alongside occasional work in native plant landscape design. Adrienne also held the position of Faculty Lecturer, teaching at Butte College Environmental Horticulture from 2010 to 2012 and continuing her teaching journey at CSU Chico from 2012 to the present. Throughout her career, she has published dozens of research papers, reviews, and technical reports.

Kevin Espiritu

Founder & CEO of Epic Gardening

Kevin Espiritu is the founder and CEO of Epic Gardening, the world’s most-followed gardening brand and online garden store. As a self-taught gardener, Espiritu has spent over a decade producing educational gardening content across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, the Epic Gardening podcast, and blog. He’s amassed over 3.6 million social media followers, 11 million podcast downloads, and 42 million blog visits.

Additionally, Espiritu has authored multiple books, “Field Guide to Urban Gardening: How to Grow Plants, No Matter Where You Live” and “Grow Bag Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow Bountiful Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Flowers in Lightweight, Eco-friendly Fabric Pots.”

His third book, ” Epic Homesteading: Your Guide To Self-Sufficiency On A Modern, High-Tech, Backyard Homestead ” will be released in the spring and chronicles how he converted his urban residence into the Epic Homestead in San Diego, California.

Alejandra Feliciano

Landscape Designer and Project Manager for Molbak's Garden + Homes

Alejandra Feliciano is a Landscape Designer and Project Manager for Molbak's Garden + Home's landscape design and construction team. She is a highly trained horticulturist with both a doctorate and masters degree in the field, as well as a Certified Professional Horticulturist certification from WSNLA.

Alejandra possesses a wealth of knowledge and professional experience in sustainable gardening. In addition to her academic and professional achievements, she is also a recognized horticulture Associate Faculty member at Edmonds College where she shares her expertise on native plants and sustainable gardening design and practices with students and fellow horticulturists.

Maria Failla

Maria is a “Plant Killer Turned Plant Lady” on a mission to help everyone successfully care for plants and make the world a kinder and greener place. After learning to care for plants successfully and experiencing the exponential joy caring for plants brought to her life, she founded the Growing Joy with Plants Podcast to learn alongside her listeners as she interviews experts in all aspects of plant care. Growing Joy with Plants has grown into the top Home & Garden Houseplant & gardening podcast in the world, closing in on 3 million downloads and was a 2020 Webby Honoree. In 2022 she authored Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants). Maria spent the last decade as a professional Musical Theater performer and has been seen in Broadway musicals on the Great White Way and around the world. She’s thrilled to now use her voice to help people grow more joy in their lives, through plant care.

C.L. Fornari

Proud member of

C.L. Fornari

Author, Coffee for Roses and The Cocktail Garden Hour and award-winning co-host, Plantrama Podcast

C.L. Fornari is an artist, writer and speaker who knows from experience that life takes you down roads you never intended to walk. She has always loved plants and gardens, but early in life all she wanted to do is to "go into the studio and make stuff." In the mid-1990s, she was asked to write a book about gardening, and she thought, "when opportunity knocks, you'd better open the door."Eight books later, C.L. is host of GardenLine, a live call-in radio program heard on WXTK since 2002, and is a frequent speaker to groups nationwide.

C.L. grows vegetables, flowers, and numerous other plants at Poison Ivy Acres on Cape Cod, and her not-so-secret mission is to keep horticulture connected with popular culture.

Cindy Funes

Proud member of

Cindy Funes

Container garden designer and owner of Garden Revelry LLC

As a certified professional horticulturalist and owner of Garden Revelry LLC, Cindy has been designing, installing and maintaining container gardens in the Pacific Northwest since 2008. Along the way, her background in marketing, hands-on experience working with plants, and instructional support experience at Lake Washington Technical College's Horticulture Program have shaped her into a successful client-centric business owner in horticulture, with a flair for creating unique and interesting container garden compositions that compliment and transform living spaces.

Cindy loves people and plants and firmly believes that adding planted containers can define a living space, providing function, beauty, and purpose. She also believes in the creative potential within each individual and views the individuality brought to container plantings, and other pursuits, as one of the great wonders of container gardening.

Her passion lies in connecting with people and sharing the benefits of container gardening, as well as the many nuggets of advice she's collected through the years, fostering creativity in each individual. Beyond being a creator, Cindy is also an educator, frequently presented to both homeowner and industry professionals, sharing her passion, know-how, and hot tips on all things container gardening related.

Karl Gercens

Sue Goetz

Proud member of

Sue Goetz

Owner, Creative Gardener and author, Complete Container Herb Gardening and A Taste for Herbs

Sue Goetz CPH, EcoPro - Garden Designer, Horticulturist, Speaker Author

Sue Goetz is an award-winning garden designer, writer, and speaker. Through her business, Creative Gardener, she works with clients to personalize their outdoor spaces, offering different services from garden coaching to complete landscape design. Sue also holds a staff designer at Watson's Nursery in Puyallup, Washington.

Sue's garden design work has earned her numerous accolades, including gold medals at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show and specialty awards like The Sunset Magazine award, Fine Gardening magazine award, and The American Horticultural Society Award.

In addition to her design expertise, Sue shares her love of gardening through writing and speaking. Her motto ""...inspiring gardeners to create"" defines her talks, hands-on workshops with how-to's, and ways to inspire creativity in and out of the garden. She has been recognized by the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association as Educator of the Year.

Sue shares her love of garden and herb growing with talks featured all over the U.S. Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including APLD Designer magazine, Pacific Horticulture Magazine, and Fine Gardening Magazine. She is the author of the books: Complete Container Herb Gardening (Cool Springs Press 2020), A Taste for Herbs (St. Lynn's Press 2019), and The Herb Lover's Spa Book (St. Lynn's Press 2015).

Mara Grey

Joseph Grienauer

Owner of Emerald City Orchids

Joe Grienauer started working professionally with orchids in 2004 at Barron’s Orchids in Morro Bay, CA. In 2008, he started Emerald City Orchids in the garage of a rented house in Greenlake. Today, Emerald City Orchids has the largest selection of orchids available in the Pacific Northwest. Joe has been recognized with the Gary Baker Service Award by the Northwest Orchid Society as well as by The American Orchid Society for his efforts in promoting orchid cultivation. He has served on the Northwest Orchid Society Board of Directors for several years and is the current society librarian. Joe presents educational programs regularly to garden clubs and orchid societies. In addition to educational endeavors, Joe enjoys creating orchid displays and has won, among other recognitions, three gold medals for his garden designs at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival.

Robin Haglund

Educator and founder and president of Garden Mentors® and Garden Mentors Academy

Robin Haglund is the founder of gardening education firm Garden Mentor. She thrives by helping individuals succeed at cultivating great gardening skills and their dream garden. Robin has been garden coaching, speaking, teaching, and designing gardens in the Pacific Northwest and beyond for over two decades.

Through Robin's online Gardening Academy, she provides self-paced gardening lessons to help people stop struggling and grow better gardening skills and a great garden with her proven techniques. Additionally, in Herbal Happy Hour Garden-to-Bar, Robin offers garden-to-glass lessons on growing and DIYing tasty homegrown sippables. She also hosts several special online seminars throughout the year.

Robin is an HGTV, NWFGF, WALP, and WSNLA award-winning designer, an avid herbalist, a down-to-earth speaker, a popular writer, and a frequent garden media expert guest and contributor.

Robin donates time educating others in nature. Her popular articles, videos, and classes are infused with vibrant anecdotes derived from her lifetime gardening on farms and in city gardens across the US, her daily adventures with plants, pollinators, pets, and wildlife in the natural world, and her garden teaching experiences imparting successful gardening, herbalist, and naturalist practices to all levels.

Robin's gardening and design methods, plant knowledge, pollinator and pet gardening techniques, restoration methods, and homesteading skills are featured in several media sources including The New York Times, PBS's "Growing a Greener World", Sunset Magazine, Colibri Magazine, HGTV's "Landscaper's Challenge", The Seattle Times, Organic Gardening Magazine, This Old House Magazine, MSN, several podcasts, and many books.

Kiara Hancock

Bold and passionate wedding and floral designer

Kiara Hancock is a multifaceted individual, wife, mother to two wonderful girls. As an acclaimed wedding and floral designer, her work and words have been featured
in BRIDES, VOGUE, Architectural Digest. She also left her mark in the book "Black Flora", and appeared on the second season of Full Bloom on HBOMax.

Kiara is a fierce advocate and advisor for her clients. She takes pride in her ability to connect with people of all backgrounds, gets to the root of what they need, and translate the story of their relationships into a beautiful event.

She believes that the universe has destined her to create more beauty, harmony, and love on the planet, and so she doing just that. She is passionate about true emotion and love, desire, and joy endlessly inspire her to transform spaces to embody the emotions that will be felt forever.

For those ready to share the most profound and vulnerable aspects of their love, Kiara stands ready to turn their vision into an unforgettable experience. With her talent, passion, and devotion, she wholeheartedly strives to spread beauty, love, and joy, leaving an indelible mark on the hearts of all she touches.

Derek Haynes

Proud member of

Derek Haynes

Plant biologist known as "The Chocolate Botanist"

Following in the footsteps of notable Black plant researchers and scientists like George Washington Carver and Percy Julian is no easy task, but Derek Haynes is more than up to the challenge. With a background in plant biology and prior experience in vaccine and therapeutics development using non-traditional plant-based technologies, Derek unquestionably practices what he advocates.

Merging together education, his signature wit and humour, and his keen love for plants and science, Derek’s mission is to pull the traditional knowledge of our ancestors into the mainstream. Known affectionately as "The Chocolate Botanist" on Instagram, Derek has built a community of nearly 16K like-minded people, who have come to respect both his incredible depth of knowledge and the palpable joy he cultivates with the subject matter.

His earnest passion has landed him features in The Guardian, Lifehacker, and has been a guest on renowned podcasts like Black in the Garden and In Defense of Plants. He has also worked with the North Carolina Botanical Gardens in developing educational workshops on botany and plant science. Through his dedicated commitment to fostering community and providing the necessary tools to expand knowledge, Derek is solidifying his place in the plant world—continuing to pave a new and sustainable path for the next generation of young, Black botanists.

Dan Heims

Award-winning author, and president of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.

Dan Heims is an award-winning author who lectures throughout the world. He was recently honored by The American Horticultural Society with the Luther Burbank Breeding Award, as well as the Perennial Plant Associations highest award - The Award of Merit. He was receiving the Royal Horticultural Society's Reginald Cory Cup for advancements in breeding.

Since 1973, Dan Heims has been deeply involved in all facets of horticulture. He has taught horticulture courses, wholesaled exotic plants, and run his own design-and-installation landscape business in the Pacific Northwest. Currently, he is the president of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., a company noted for its many new introductions to horticulture. Terra Nova's breeding programs have produced numerous international gold- and silver-medal winners, not to mention an impressive 1100 plant introductions.

Dan's articles and photography have been featured in a number of magazines. He has hosted a weekly radio gardening show on KKSN and has appeared on The Martha Stewart TV Show, Martha Stewart Omnimedia Radio, HGTV, and the BBC. His work and his garden have been featured in USA Today, Forbes, Better Homes and Gardens, Sunset Magazine, and Organic Gardening. He is currently writing for GardenSmart, a multimedia production company.

Dan is a published author, having written the humorous "Garden Clerk Dictionary," and he co-authored "Heucheras and Heucherellas" with Grahame Ware (released by Timber Press in 2005).

Dan travels the world in search of the newest perennials. Along the way, he uses his unique blend of knowledge, wit, and humor to captivate audiences around the globe. He is a frequent speaker in every corner of the United States, as well as in Japan, England, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, Australia, and Canada.

Justin Henderson

Garden Director at PowellsWood Garden

Justin Henderson is the current Garden Director at PowellsWood Garden in Federal Way, WA. He is well known for his Instagram presence (@powellswood) which highlights the magical experience of being inside a garden. He has served as President of the Northwest Horticultural Society and contributes to other associations, including The Garden Conservancy Northwest Network, Puget Sound Public Gardens, and the American Public Gardens Association.

He is a strong advocate for public gardens and for creating outdoor spaces for community participation. Justin grew up in the rural Pacific Northwest and spent most of his childhood exploring the forest, building tree forts, and making friends with woodland creatures.

Dan Hinkley

Director, Heronswood Garden and author, The Explorer’s Garden

Dan Hinkley is native to the Zone 4 highlands of Michigan, and his lifelong interest in plants lead him to receive his B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture from Michigan State University and his M.S. in Urban Horticulture from the University of Washington. In 1987 he and his husband, architect Robert Jones, established Heronswood Nursery. Devoted to introducing rare plants to the gardeners of North America, this endeavor led him into the wilds of China, South and Central America, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Nepal and Vietnam over the past 20 years. In 2012 the Port S’Klallam Tribe purchased the Heronswood property and restored the garden, and Dan remains as its Director. Dan has written for many periodicals, including Pacific Horticulture, The American Gardener, Horticulture, and The Gardener and has a regular column in Horticulture. He is the author of three award-winning books: The Explorer’s Garden: Shrubs & Vines (Timber Press, 2009), Winter Ornamentals (Sasquatch, 1993) and The Explorers Garden: Rare and Unusual Perennials (Timber Press, 1998). He is presently writing a new book, on the making of Windcliff, his private garden, to be published by Timber Press in late 2020. Dan has been awarded the Scott Medal, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award, and the Veitch Memorial Medal, among others. He serves as horticultural consultant to Monrovia Growers and to several design firms, travels the world to find new plants, speaks to horticulture groups, weeds his garden and savors every moment of life with Robert and their pups at Windcliff. www.danieljhinkley.com

Ginger Hudson

Successful Garden Maintenance: Pick the Correct Tools the First Time!

Ginger has been gardening in the roughest of roughs- from limestone of the Texas Hill Country to glacier outflows of the Chugach Mountains, and now in moist, thin soil of Alaska's Inside Passage. Ginger will start at the bottom: digging, glorifying the sharp-shooter, and move up to pruning showing the difference between by-pass and anvil cutting tools. She's dealt with a thing or two - cheap manufacturing, bent shovels, and rocky kneeling surfaces to name a few - over a career of nearly thirty years operating her own landscape business and managing horticulture projects in public display gardens.

Ginger Hudson currently holds the position of Director of the Jensen-Olson Arboretum in Juneau, AK. Prior to this role, she operated her own landscape design and garden education business in Anchorage, AK. During her time in Anchorage, Ginger also served as the Special Horticulture Projects Manager at the Alaska Botanical Garden. Before moving to the cool climate of Alaska, Ginger operated a landscape design and education business in Austin, TX. Ginger's experience helping people learn the nuances of landscape care led her to write ebook "A Guide to Landscape Maintenance for Central Texas Gardens," which is readily available at the Apple Bookstore. While in Austin, she taught design classes and led plant walks at the renowned Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Ginger has made several appearances on KLRU TV's Central Texas Gardener; served as a guest for environmental writing and gardening on KTNA, KAKM, and KTOO in Alaska.

Ginger has been a presenter for a variety of organizations covering an array of topics such as landscape design, edible plants, and garden maintenance. She has spoken about her current biographical subject Verna Pratt, Alaska's beloved wildflower expert.
As manager of the Jensen-Olson Arboretum, Ginger oversees the care of a fourteen-acre maritime climate arboretum and botanical garden which houses the Nationally Accredited Plant CollectionTM for the genus Primula. As horticulturist and director of the arboretum, Ginger has presented to the American Public Gardens Association, where she shares her expertise on small public garden management.
Ginger has been a featured speaker at NWFGS (Northwest Flower & Garden Show), presenting on hardy perennials for Northwest Gardens and spring Primula in the Pacific Temperate Rainforest.

Ginger Hudson is an advanced master gardener, native plant, and rock garden society member. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage and an Environmental Design degree from Texas A&M University.

Jennifer Jewell

Award-winning author and public radio podcast host of "Cultivating Place" Conversations on Natural History and Human Impulse to Garden"

Jennifer Jewell is the host of the national award-winning weekly public radio program and podcast titled "Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden." She is also the author of "The Earth in Her Hands, 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants" (Timber Press, 2020), and "Under Western Skies, Visionary Gardens from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast" (Timber Press, 2021). Furthermore, her upcoming book, "What We Sow: On the Personal, Ecological, and Cultural Significance of Seeds," will be published by Timber Press in late 2023.

Jennifer's greatest passion is elevating the perception of gardening and empowering gardeners by exploring the connections between places, environments, cultures, individuals, and the gardens that bring them together. Her work is an inspiring force for the betterment of all the lives on this generous planet.

"Cultivating Place" has been recognized several times by Garden Communicators International as Best On-Air Talent and Best Overall Broadcast Media. In 2023, Jewell was honored with the American Horticultural Society's Great American Gardener B.Y. Morrison award for horticultural communication.

In 2021, her book "The Earth in Her Hands" was honored by the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries with their Award for Excellence in Biography, and "Under Western Skies" received a Golden Poppy winner for the Glenn Goldman award from the California Alliance of Independent Booksellers. The members of CALIBA present The Golden Poppy Book Awards to recognize the most distinguished books written by writers and artists who make California their home.

Jewell regularly serves as a keynote speaker for horticultural organizations across the country. She lives and cultivates her garden and home in interior Northern California with her partner, plantsman, John Whittlesey.

Gary Lewis

Award-winning owner, Phoenix Perennials and author, The Complete Book of Ground Covers

Gary Lewis has had a lifelong passion for plants. While completing a Masters of Science degree in Botany, Gary became the owner of Phoenix Perennials on his 28th birthday. Since then, he has greatly expanded the business into a dynamic, award-winning, destination nursery for Western Canada with over 5000 different plants a year, many of which are grown at Phoenix Perennials from plant material sourced from around the world. In 2013, Phoenix Perennials launched Canadian mail order to bring their unique plant selection to a broader audience and now ships more than 2500 different plants a year to avid gardeners from coast to coast to coast.

Gary is a regular speaker at garden clubs and has appeared many times on radio and television. He has written for a variety of gardening magazines including Fine Gardening, and in fall 2022, his encyclopedia, "The Complete Book of Ground Covers", was published by Timber Press. This compendium focuses on 4000 different ground covers for the temperate gardening world accompanied by 650 photos from his international travels. The book will soon be translated and published in Japan.

Among his many awards, Gary was selected as Communicator of the Year in 2013 by the BC Landscape and Nursery Association, and he was the recipient of the Retail Sales Award from the Perennial Plant Association in 2017.

Gary has lead botanical and garden tours to Holland and Belgium, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, France, and Western Australia.

Anne Long

Located in the picturesque farming community of Skagit Valley, The Dahlia House is an online and in-person hub for flower enthusiasts of all kinds. Just an hour north of Seattle, this urban farm specializes in the cultivation and sale of rare, resilient and robust dahlia tubers and Italian ranunculus and anemone corms.

The Dahlia House was born out of Anne Long's deep love for both people and plants, for sustainable growing practices and accessible floral design. As an experienced flower farmer, educator, and public speaker, she shares her insight, growing tips and the stories behind her blooms on her website, blog and podcast.

The Dahlia House hosts workshops, public speaking events, and hands-on experiences at Christianson’s Nursery, The Maple House Co. and Happy Hollow Farm. Along with growing flowers in her front yard, Anne tends to a scenic acre of land where she cultivates Italian ranunculus, anemones, sweet peas, zinnias, celosia and, of course, dahlias.

Through Anne's dedication to education and her natural gift for encouragement, she has established her urban farm as a place for connection, fostering not only a love of flowers, but also for the shared human experience.

Jacques Lyakov

Garden Hermit at Epic Gardening

Jacques embarked on his gardening journey as a way to relax and find purpose outside of his PhD studies. He quickly discovered that reading up on growing food, watching videos, and turning gardening into a daily practice offered much more than he expected. During the first year, he was able to turn his backyard into a thriving ecosystem full of life and delicious produce. In the process of building his garden, he discovered that everything from the garden tasted so delicious and vibrant, which opened a whole new world of flavor that he knew he couldn't buy. The revelation of flavor he experienced from homegrown vegetables drove him to want to teach the world how to grow. Over the past 3 years, he has built up an audience of over half a million people, sharing what he has and continues to learn every day. By teaching people the how and why behind gardening practices, Jacques hopes to empower others to discover what he did — flavor!

Susan Maki

Shannon Marder

Occupational therapist and co-author, Nature-Based Allied Health Practice

Shannon Marder, OTD, OTR/L graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served aboard ships in the Pacific Ocean. After her life at sea, she studied occupational therapy and earned a doctorate degree from Boston University. She is currently a licensed occupational therapist in Washington state living in Bellingham. Her professional interests range from working with children in schools to facilitating social groups with older adults and she is currently developing nature-based therapeutic courses and curricula for various clinical and educational organizations.

When not playing outside, traveling, or spending time with her growing family she is likely promoting and marketing the book she co-authored with Amy, Nature-Based Allied Health Practice: Creative and Evidence-Based Strategies.

R. Theo Margelony

Fuchsia expert and blogger The Fuchsietum

R. Theo is the Vice-President of the Oregon Fuchsia Society. They spend their time cultivating a small urban garden in Manhattan and is now establishing a new garden in Portland in the Northwest. With their expertise in fuchsias and other gardening topics, R. Theo often engages in talks and writings about these subjects.

R. Theo is set to be one of the featured speakers at the British Fuchsia Societyís 80th Anniversary Celebration at the Royal Horticultural Society-Malvern Autumn Show in the UK In September 2023. Their articles and contributions on fuchsias have appeared in the publications of the Northwest Fuchsia Society, the British Fuchsia, and the French Horticultural Society's Fuchsia Section.

R. Theo was recently featured in an article on hardy fuchsias, which appeared in the Seattle Times. In their upcoming endeavors, R. Theo will also be contributing an article to the next publication of the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, sharing their experiences on being transplanted, East to West, offering valuable insights for fellow gardening enthusiasts.

Allison McCullough

Garden designer and co-author, American Roots

Allison McCullough is a creative whose passions lie in design, art, antiquity and never-ending hunt of a good find. Allison’s early career in the marketing and advertising world gave her invaluable experience to be the creative director / executive at the couple’s award-winning firm based in New Albany, Ohio. While Allison calls herself a gardening novice, she finds that perspective invaluable in bridging the gap between high design and fine gardening. Allison lives with her husband Nick McCullough and their two kids in Columbus, Ohio.

Nick McCullough

Landscape designer, owner of McCullough's Landscape & Nursery, LLC, and author, American Roots

Nick McCullough is an award-winning garden designer with a distinctive style that he calls Midwest Modern, one that relies on a balance of natural paving and innovative perennial plantings. Based in Ohio, he and his team at McCullough’s Landscape & Nursery create and maintain plant centric gardens in and around the Midwest that are both ecologically sensitive and family-forward.

His first book, "American Roots", which he co-authored with his wife Allison and Teresa Woodard has recently been published by Timber Press.

Ryan McEnaney

Author of Field Guide to Outdoor Style and spokesperson for First Editions® Shrubs & Trees

Ryan McEnaney is a fifth-generation family member and owner at Bailey Nurseries, a 115-year-old nursery headquartered outside of St. Paul, Minnesota. The company has grown to be one of the largest producers of shrubs and trees in the United States. McEnaney oversees public relations and social media for the brands and serves as their national consumer spokesperson. To support this, he has been quoted in publications such as Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, and Martha Stewart Living; has appeared on television throughout the United States; and travels the country educating homeowners on how to be successful in the garden. His approach revolves around fun, breaking down barriers to gardening, and creating a welcoming space to collaborate.

McEnaney currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Garden Bureau, as well as multiple committees for GardenComm: The Association for Garden Communicators, Seed Your Future, AmericanHort, and the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association.

Sean & Allison McManus

Proud member of

Sean & Allison McManus

Co-owner and host of Spoken Garden, and co-author, The First-time Gardener: Growing Plants and Flowers

Sean and Allison McManus have over 20+ years of experience and education in horticulture, garden care, and science education. They are inventors of two dual-purpose seed sowing/transplanting tools, The Little Dibby and The Dibby XL (both patent pending). The Dibby XL won the National Garden Bureau's "Green Thumb Award" in 2023.

They have appeared in several podcasts, live interviews, and articles. With their combined knowledge, horticulture training, and love of teaching others, they're thrilled to help first-time gardeners grow their confidence in garden care through their popular Spoken Garden YouTube channel, their "DIY Garden Minute" podcast, and their book "The First-time Gardener: Growing Plants and Flowers" (Cool Springs Press, 2021).

Sean McManus, a horticulturist born and raised in Washington State, starting gardening early in life and learned how to propagate and grow plants at his parents' rhododendron farm in Olympia, WA, starting at the age of five. His love of plants led to his study of Environmental Horticulture at Washington State University where he earned both a Bachelor's ('00) and Master's ('04). Before creating Spoken Garden with his wife, Allison, in 2018, his previous horticulture experience included assistant greenhouse grower, teacher, research assistant, research associate, grounds maintenance, and project coordinator.

The McManus duo now tend to their suburban garden garden in zone 8b.

Kerry Ann Mendez

Award-winning speaker, garden designer and author of 4 gardening books, including The Right-Size Flower Garden

Kerry Ann Mendez is dedicated to teaching the art of high-impact, low-maintenance, sustainable perennial gardening and landscaping. As a garden designer, author and lecturer, she focuses on time-saving gardening techniques, workhorse plants and sustainable practices. She has been featured on HGTV and in numerous magazines including Horticulture, Fine Gardening, Garden Gate and Better Homes and Gardens.

In recognition of their outstanding contributions to the enjoyment and appreciation of plants and the environment, Kerry Ann was awarded the 2014 Gold Medal from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, an honorary medal presented to outstanding horticulturalists. She has given over 1,000 lectures and has spoken in 23 states and Canada.

Kerry Ann has published four gardening books and teaches national gardening Webinars that thousands have enjoyed.

For more about Kerry Ann and their business, Perennially Yours, visit www.pyours.com.

David Mizejewski

Appearance sponsored by

David Mizejewski

Naturalist at National Wildlife Federation and author, Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife

David Mizejewski is a naturalist, author, TV host, and content creator with the National Wildlife Federation. He's been fascinated by our natural world for as long as he can remember. He spent his youth exploring the woods, fields and wetlands, observing and learning about the surprising diversity of wildlife that inhabits them. David holds a degree in Human and Natural Ecology from Emory University.

David has hosted television series on both Animal Planet and NatGeo WILD and has regularly appeared on shows ranging from NBC's Today Show to The Drew Barrymore Show to Conan to Martha Stewart. He does dozens of other media appearances each year to promote wildlife conservation through natural gardening.

He specializes in urban ecology, the role that native plants have on wildlife populations, and helping people restore wildlife habitat in their cities, towns, neighborhoods, backyards, and gardens of which is the subject of his bestselling garden how-to book "Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife".

David is dedicated to using his knowledge and unbridled enthusiasm to help others understand and protect wildlife.

Ciscoe Morris

Radio, TV host, columnist & best-selling author, Ask Ciscoe and Oh, La La!

Ciscoe is a well-known personality in the Pacific Northwest. He is featured regularly on King5 'New Day Northwest', King5 news, and King5 'Evening'. His radio show, 'Gardening with Ciscoe,' is on KSQM every Saturday at 9 a.m. After writing for the Seattle Post Intelligencer, followed by the Seattle Times, he left to concentrate on writing his newest book, 'Oh, La La!' which came out in January of 2020.

On average, he gives over 50 garden presentations a year. Ciscoe is one of only two people who have spoken at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival every year since its inception. Besides many environmental awards for his work at Seattle University, he was recently awarded the prestigious B.Y. Morrison Communications Award from the American Horticultural Society (AHS).

Ciscoe can often be found working in his Northeast Seattle garden which has been featured in several publications. Besides gardening, he is passionate about travel and leads garden tours to countries all over the world.

Charlie Nardozzi

Regional Emmy award-winning radio, TV host and author, Gardening Complete and No-Dig Gardening

Charlie Nardozzi is a nationally recognized, Regional Emmy award-winning garden writer, speaker, radio, and television personality. For over 30 years, he has been dedicated to providing expert gardening information to home gardeners through radio, television, talks, on-line, and the printed page. Charlie's passion lies in making gardening information simple, easy, fun and accessible to everyone. He has spoken at national venues such as the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, Philadelphia Flower Show, San Francisco Flower Show, Master Gardener conferences, and trade shows around the country. Charlie has a Masters degree in Education and Bachelors in Horticulture.

Charlie co-hosts ¨In The Garden" and provides garden tips on the local CBS affiliate television station (WCAX-Channel 3), a weekly, call-in radio show on WJOY-1230AM and the award winning All Things Gardening on Vermont Public Radio. He is the host of the weekly Connecticut Garden Journal radio show on Connecticut Public.

Charlie is an accomplished writer and has contributed to national magazines such as Organic Gardening and American Gardener. He has also authored several titles in the "Gardening for Dummies" series, including Urban Gardening for Dummies (2013) and Vegetable Gardening For Dummies (2009). His regional books include Northeast Fruit and Vegetable Gardening (April 2012), New England Getting Started Garden Guide (January 2015), and New England Month by Month Gardening (2016), Foodscaping (2015), Gardening Complete (April 2018.), and The Complete Guide to No-Dig Gardening (2021).

Charlie's skills as a garden communicator extend beyond the printed page. He is the former host of PBS's Garden Smart, reaching more than 60 million households. He also is a consultant for companies such as Velcro USA and Gardener's Supply Company. Charlies also runs international garden tours annually , taking enthusiasts to locations such as Italy, France, Cuba, Portugal and Great Britain.

Sarah Nayani

Mary Ann Newcomer

Author, speaker, radio host and newspaper columnist. Mary Ann is an expert at gardening in the intermountain west.

As the garden columnist for both the Idaho Press and Boise Weekly newspapers, Mary Ann does her best to enlighten gardeners about the ups and downs of gardening in the sagebrush steppe/high desert region of Idaho.

A native daughter of Idaho and deeply rooted in the soil of the American West she grows gardens, scouts them high and low, and writes about those gardens and the act of gardening in the Intermountain West. She has written for Rocky Mountain Gardening, Country Gardens, MaryJane’s Farm, Fine Gardening, Leaf Magazine, the American Gardener, and regional newspapers. She’s designed public and private gardens, commercial landscape plantings, and those crazy gardens for flower shows.

When not tending her own garden, Mary Ann can be found volunteering and doing garden design work at the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise. You can see her public projects in the book, “Under Western Skies,” by Jewell and Atkinson, Timber Press, 2021.

Kristin Ohlson

Journalist and bestselling author, The Soil Will Save Us and Sweet in Tooth and Claw

Kristin Ohlson is a writer from Portland, Oregon. Her recent book, "Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World" has garnered praise from the Wall Street Journal as "excellent and illuminating." In this work, she delves into the mutually beneficial relationships among living things that shape and undergird the natural world.

Her last book "The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet", which the Los Angeles Times calls a "hopeful and neceesary" addition to the dialogue about land use. She has appeared in the award-winning documentary film, Kiss the Ground, to speak about the connection between soil health and climate health.

Kristin's articles have been published in the New York Times, Orion, Discover, Gourmet, Oprah, and many other print and online publications. Her magazine work has been anthologized in Best American Science Writing and Best American Food Writing.

While she has written on a diverse range of subjects in her long career, she is now focused on the work to regenerate landscapes and cities. She has a special interest in writing about science, particularly in turning complex subjects into narratives that ordinary people read with relish.

Kristin has spoken about the topics covered in her books on many podcasts and radio shows, including Science Friday, and has addressed many groups including the Portland Garden Club, the Wenatchee River Institute, the Fuller Field School, the Midcoast Watersheds Council, the Los Angeles Urban Soil Summit, the International Association of Arboriculture (New Jersey Chapter), the Friends of Peninsula Park Rose Garden, the Oregon Conservation Education and Assistance Network, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics national conference, the Tucson Festival of Books, the Lake Oswego Soil Summit, XTINGUISH/Cuyahoga River Celebration, and Congressional staff in Washington DC, invited by Senator Bernie Sanders.

Alexa Patti

Head Grower at Little Prince of Oregon Nursery

In the realm of horticulture, Alexa Patti, a dedicated Head Grower, and accomplished Horticulturist, embarked on her journey in 2019 at Clackamas Community College. She swiftly completed a 2–3-year Horticulture degree in just 1.5 years with a remarkable GPA of 4.0 while working full time in the industry.

Starting as an Integrated Pest Management Tech, Alexa's expertise led to her promotion as IPM Supervisor, where she shaped a successful beneficial insect program and studied plant health. Recognition for her unwavering commitment came in the form of the prestigious President's Award from CCC, a testament to her exceptional achievements both academically and professionally.

Currently, as Head Grower at Little Prince of Oregon Nursery, Alexa oversees all growing operations and spearheads the Winter Jewels Hellebore Breeding program. Her passion extends beyond work; she harbors a love for perennials and an obsession with houseplants, creating a lush oasis at home.

A proud mother of three, Alexa's journey from the upper Midwest to the Pacific Northwest in 2017 left her captivated by the zone 8 flora. This career move into Horticulture wasn't merely a career pursuit but a personal one; a tribute to her father's legacy, and a commitment to a horticultural journey that resonates with her heart.

Susan Papanikolas

Garden coach, designer, and founder of How Does Your Garden Grow

Susan Papanikolas is a garden coach and garden designer in Seattle, Washington. She founded How Does Your Garden Grow in 1997, and has been working with clients, teaching workshops, filming informative videos, and leading field trips to share her love of gardening and empower gardeners with the skills and confidence they need to make the most of their outdoor spaces.

Susan has a biology degree from Amherst College and a Master of Science degree from the Center of Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington. She advocates for organic practices and sustainable gardening, and believes that plants and gardening have a powerful effect on our health and well-being.

Shelly Pearson

Michael Perry

Appearance sponsored by

Michael Perry

Hortpreneur, TV presenter, speaker and author, "Hortus Curious", AKA Mr. Plant Geek

A multihyphenate of the plant world, Michael Perry (AKA Mr. Plant Geek), is a TV presenter, speaker, hortpreneur and author of "Hortus Curious", a visual menagerie showcasing the weirdest and wackiest plant species. Michael embarked on his career in new product development at Thompson & Morgan before quickly working his way up to becoming an authoritative voice knowledgeable in all areas of horticulture. His portfolio includes guest appearances on ITV’s "This Morning" and Channel 4’s "Steph’s Packed Lunch," along with frequent speaking engagements at RHS Flower Shows and industry exhibitions worldwide. Michael’s passion for the enjoyable side of gardening, with a focus on new plants and emerging trends, serves to inspire and nurture the new generation of gardeners.

Christina Pfeiffer

Proud member of

Christina Pfeiffer

Horticulture consultant and educator, ISA certified arborist and co-author, Pacific Northwest Gardening Month-by-Month

Christina has enjoyed a long career in landscape horticulture that has encompassed landscape management, garden writing, teaching, and consulting. The foundation of her work is to use sustainable and practical horticulture techniques that work in sync with cycles of the seasons.

Christina has degrees in horticulture from Michigan State University and the University of Washington, and she is a ISA Certified Arborist. Horticulture is her vocation, hobby, and passion. She firmly believes that gardening should less of a battle and more about the opportunity to be immersed in nature. Her book, "Pacific Northwest Gardening Month by Month", co-authored with Mary Robson, provides practical information on how to reach that place.

Debra Prinzing

Proud member of

Debra Prinzing

Award-winning author, speaker, and podcast host and founder of Slow Flowers.

Debra Prinzing is a Seattle-based creative who can credit her happy existence writing about gardens and home design to great preparation: a degree in textiles and design, and a long career in journalism.

Debra is an award-winning author, speaker, and leading advocate for American-grown flowers. She is the creator of Slowflowers.com, a free online directory that helps consumers find florists, designers, studios and farms that supply American grown flowers. Debra's book "Slow Flowers" (St. Lynn's Press, 2013) received a Silver Medal from Garden Writers Association in 2014.

Debra is a contributing editor to Country Gardens magazine and her feature stories on architecture and design appear regularly in the Los Angeles Times’ Home section. She is a contributor to Garden Design, and her work has appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, online publications and blogs.

In 2016, the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, a farm-to-florist cooperative, honored Debra with the first Growers Choice Award for her “outstanding contributions to revitalizing the local floral community.”

Debra serves on the advisory board of the American Grown Flowers Campaign, a national initiative to brand and market domestic flowers. She is the creator of American Flowers Week, launched during the July 4th week in 2015 with more than 400,000 social media impressions. Debra is also the producer and host of the Slow Flowers Podcast with Debra Prinzing, which is available for free download on iTunes or at debraprinzing.com.

A Master Gardener, Debra has studied landscape horticulture and design at South Seattle Community College. Debra is current president of Garden Writers Association and a member of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers.

Roger Ragusa

General Manager of Wells Nursery, LLC

With over 30 years in the nursery industry, Roger's career has included roles in retail nursery sales, plant buying, landscape design consultation, wholesale sales, and propagation, field and container production.

As general manager of Wells Nursery, Roger's primary responsibility is overseeing 70-acres of field production of grafted ornamental conifers for the national market. Additionally for local clientele, Wells Nursery is a propagator of Japanese maples, broadleaf evergreens, and other material.

As a family-owned nursery for 86 years, he is committed to the mission of offering "plants of merit" to the national market and assisting retail customers in bringing their landscape visions to fruition.

Mr. Ragusa is an active member of the Skagit community as past president of the Mount Vernon Library Foundation, Rotarian for over 25 years and greatly enjoys participating in community theater either on stage or producing.

Roger celebrates 25 years of marriage, two grown children, and one grandchild. He enjoys fishing, golf, time with family and friends and is known as a cocktail aficionado, cigar enthusiast and casual watch collector.

Thomas Rainer

Teresa Rao

Owner of Belle Pétale

Teresa Rao is an avid gardener and flower lover who in 2020 transitioned from a 16-year corporate training career to floristry with the launch of Belle Pétale. Her boutique floral design studio is located in Tukwila, Washington, and proudly serves Seattle, Tacoma and Lakewood. Each floral arrangement is made to order and created with a custom palette of seasonal flowers sourced in the Pacific Northwest from local flower farms, to ensure the highest quality and unique variety. Belle Pétale incorporates in each design the elements that accentuate the French floral style: poetic, structure, shape, natural - with a polished presentation.

Rizanino Reyes

Owner of RHR Horticulture

An early curiosity about fruits and flowers transformed a young boy from the Philippines into an award-winning horticulturist in the Pacific Northwest. Riz Reyes' genuine passion in gardening began at the age of seven, watching public television to learn English and gaining an appreciation for the natural world. The art and science of cultivating plants captured his attention.

Upon immigrating to the US, Riz found himself immersed in an environment that unveiled an astonishing array of plant species that felt compelled to learn about and grow on his own. This led him to start a small specialty nursery, get involved with various horticultural organizations around the country and then a BS in environmental horticulture from the University of Washington.

Riz is currently the assistant director of the famed Heronswood Garden in Kingston, WA which is now owned by the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe. He continues to runs his own horticultural enterprise called RHR Horticulture.

In 2019, he was awarded the "Emerging Horticultural Professional Award" from the American Horticultural Society. In March 2022, Riz launched his first book released by Magic Cat Publishing in the UK titled "Grow", a children's non-fiction picture book, illustrated by Sara Boccacini Meadows, highlighting heroic plants that we can all grow and maybe even look up to.

Stephanie Rose

Award-winning author, Garden Made and Garden Alchemy; founder of GardenTherapy.ca

Stephanie Rose is an award-winning author, gardening expert, permaculture designer, herbalist, and wellness advocate from Vancouver, BC, Canada. After Stephanie faced her own debilitating illness she found solace and healing through gardening and herbs. Now, she draws on experiences from her personal journey and expert garden knowledge in her published books and popular website, Garden Therapy®. Read more about Stephanie at https://gardentherapy.ca/about/.

Stephanie has written 12 books including "The Regenerative Garden: 80 Practical Projects for Creating a Self-sustaining Garden Ecosystem" (Cool Springs Press, 2022), "Big Book of Botanical Crafts" (Better Day Books, 2022), "Garden Alchemy: 80 Recipes and Concoctions for Organic Fertilizers, Plant Elixirs, Potting Mixes, Pest Deterrents, and More" (Cool Springs Press, 2020), "Home Apothecary" (Leisure Arts, 2018), "The Natural Beauty Recipe Book" (Rose Garden Press, 2016), and "Garden Made: A Year of Seasonal Projects to Beautify Your Garden and Your Life (Roost Books, 2015), which was a Gold Medal Winner from the 2016 Independent Publishers Book Awards (the “IPPYs”).

Stephanie spends her time as an organic gardener, writer, and artist in East Vancouver. She is passionate about organic gardening, natural healing, and art as part of life. Stephanie lives with her kiddo, cat, dog, and 500 worms.

Nita-Jo Rountree

Author, Growing Roses in the Pacific Northwest

Nita-Jo Rountree is a speaker, educator, and landscape designer. Currently serving on the board of directors of the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society and a member of the Heronswood Garden Steering Committee, Nita-Jo is deeply engaged in promoting and preserving botanical beauty. Her expertise is highly valued, and she also contributes to the Northwest Horticultural Society as a former president and advisory board member.

Nita-Jo is a frequent speaker at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, and was a judge on "The Best Use of Color" in 2023, where she competed against Ciscoe in "Container Wars". Nita-Jo and Ciscoe collaborated to deliver a lecture titled "Let's Show Off Our Cool Plants!" Additionally, she has made numerous apperances as a guest and substitute host on "Gardening with Ciscoe" in Seattle, Washington.

Passionate about plants, Nita-Jo shares her favorite "Plant of the Week" on the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society's Facebook page. Her book, "Growing Roses in the Pacific Northwest", was published by Sasquatch Press.

Patrick Ryan

Garden writer, radio host and education specialist, Alaska Botanical Garden

Patrick Ryan is a garden communicator, a radio talk show host, an Alaska Master Gardener, and the Education Specialist for the Alaska Botanical Garden, where he has worked for 20 years. Patrick trained as a Junior Master Gardener Specialist at Texas A&M and started a Summer camp in Anchorage in 2004.

Having retired as an elementary school teacher of 21 years, Patrick continues to educate and inspire others as a regular contributor to the Alaska Botanical Garden newsletter. His articles have also been featured in the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Home magazine. Patrick has presented his engaging and practical horticultural talks around the country. His new blog, "Musings of an Alaskan Gardener," is available on the popular Laidback Gardener Blog, which is widely embraces in the US and Canada.

Pat has offered his expertise to gardeners, to those who teach gardeners, and most importantly the children, who will be gardeners in the future. Pat believes everyone who plants a seed is connected to a miracle.

Beyond horticulture, Patrick has been a performing guitarist and bandleader for over 50 years.

Rachel Schleiger

Jess Scovel

Joseph Seals

World-traveled horticulturist and speaker

Joe Seals holds a degree in Environmental Horticulture. He worked his way through retail and wholesale nurseries, as a manager and grower, as well as in landscape design and landscape contracting. He detoured through the corporate gardening book and magazine world, eventually ending up in the international seed and plant industry as a director in product development, marketing, and sales.

For business, Joe traveled through gardens and commercial horticultural operations of Europe, Japan, Latin America, and North America, searching for new plants and studying new practices and gardening philosophies, while sometimes speaking to horticultural trade organizations to share his findings.

Joe's expertise in all things gardening has brought him to radio and television as well as to the speaking podium for amateur, professional, and trade organizations.

Teaching, on and off, started 40 years ago, with stints at UCLA and adult programs at two other colleges, training of Master Gardeners in three states, and, most recently, offered occasional fun class within city parks & recreation programs for adults and children. Semi-retirement now has its special benefits.

His current and long-standing horticultural consulting enterprise has included both professional and amateur clients in at least a dozen states, covering all four corners and the very middle of the country.

In addition to client designs heís done in the varied geographical areas, he has created his own gardens where he has lived in California, Wisconsin, Illinois, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington. He currently lives in the Pacific Northwest. Gardening, of course, has been a passion of his for over 60 years.

Tyra Shenaurlt

Supervisor at the W.W. Seymour Conservatory.

It wasn’t until adulthood that Tyra Shenaurlt developed a love for Tacoma, the city that she was born and raised in. Now, she can’t imagine living anywhere else. For the last 20 years, Tyra has committed her time and talent building a career with Metro Parks Tacoma. She currently supervises the W.W. Seymour Conservatory, a Victorian-styled botanical paradise, and the Metro Parks greenhouses, where plants are grown to be displayed all around Tacoma. A favorite part of her job has always been designing botanical exhibits, and the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival is thrilled to welcome Tyra’s return to the Blooms & Bubbles Stage.

Marni Sorin

Garden educator with Tilth Alliance

Marni Sorin works as a garden educator with Tilth Alliance, where she manages the adult education program, teaches gardening classes, and cares for the Good Shepherd Center Learning Garden, along with community volunteers.

Her background is in small-scale organic vegetable farming and education. She co-owned and operated her own farm in Sultan, WA, for two years and has worked on mixed vegetable market farms in Virginia, Washington and California.

Marni holds a master's degree in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Washington, with a Certificate in Education for Environment and Community from IslandWood.

Marni is passionate about centering equity and fostering a sense of belonging in educational experiences and connecting with food and the natural world. In her free time, you can find her birding, cooking, and adventuring with her partner and pup.

Eileen Stark

Eco-landscape designer, consultant, and author, Real Gardens Grow Natives: Design, Plant, and Enjoy a Healthy Northwest Garden

Eileen Stark is a Portland-based author, eco-landscape designer, consultant, nature writer, and photographer whose academic background includes biology, wildlife ecology, and landscape design. Her highly acclaimed book, "Real Gardens Grow Natives: Design, Plant, and Enjoy a Healthy Northwest Garden," helps guide Pacific Northwest gardeners west of the Cascades in designing for both beauty and biodiversity.

Richie Steffen

Executive Director, Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden and co-author, Plant Lover’s Guide to Ferns

To say Richie Steffen is enthusiastic about or obsessed with plants would definitely be an understatement! He turned a budding passion as a youngster into a career that took him onto the Pacific Northwest horticultural stage. Richie is the Executive Director for the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden where he oversees the Garden, it’s rare plant collections, and the Miller Garden’s primary educational program Great Plant Picks. GPP is committed to building a comprehensive palette of outstanding and sharing information about reliable plants for maritime Pacific Northwest gardens.

A noted author, photographer and lecturer, Richie’s work is regularly featured in Fine Gardening magazine, and he is the co-authored, with Sue Olsen, of The Plant Lover's Guide to Ferns. His photography has been features in numerous publications including several books and national magazines. Active in the horticultural community, he is currently past president of the Northwest Horticultural Society and past president of the Hardy Fern Foundation. His entertaining lectures and beautiful images have been shared with many gardeners and will have you too perusing nurseries in search of plants from around the world.

Lisa Steinkopf

The Houseplant Guru, prolific writer, and speaker

Lisa Eldred Steinkopf is The Houseplant Guru, who features all things houseplants on her blog www.thehouseplantguru.com. Growing up in rural mid-Michigan, surrounded by nature every day, nurtured her love for plants and the outdoors. Living down the road from her grandma meant spending a lot of time watching her lavish attention on her African violets and other houseplants, sparking Lisa's lifelong fascination with them.

As an avid outdoor gardener, Lisa also contributes a column to Michigan Gardener magazine. In addition, she has written for HGTVgardens.com, MarthaStewart.com, OprahMagazine.com, Real Simple magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Horticulture, Fine Gardening, Spruce.com, Woman's World, and the houseplant section of Allan Armitage's Greatest Perennials and Annuals app.

Lisa is not only a prolific writer but also an engaging speaker. She lectures extensively across the country, spreading the word about the importance of houseplants and how to care for them. Her expertise has made her a sought-after interviewee, both online and in print, and she has appeared on TV and radio about houseplants.

Previously, Lisa worked for more than a decade at Steinkopf Nursery and Garden Center, managing annuals and houseplants. She is a member of Garden Communicators International and a member of numerous plant groups, including the Michigan Cactus and Succulent Society, the Town and Country African Violet Society, the Southeast Michigan Bromeliad Society, and the Southeast Michigan Hardy Plant Society.

IN her home in the Detroit area, Lisa tends to hundreds of houseplants, sharing her living space with her husband, John, and their kitty, Hentry. She loves to visit conservatories during her travels and is a volunteer at the Belle Isle Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory in Detroit.

Lisa believes that every home, office, and apartment should have a houseplant and there is a houseplant for every situation. A "green thumb" is something anyone can have because "everyone needs a little green in their lives"!

Kim Stoddart

Award winning U.K. garden journalist, editor (Amateur Gardening Magazine) and author The Climate Change Resilient Vegetable Garden

Kim Stoddart is an award-winning journalist, editor, speaker, garden designer, and an all-round green enthusiast. She has been writing for publications such as the Guardian on climate change, no-dig, wildlife-friendly, and therapeutic edible gardening, as well as resilience since 2013. She has gardening columns in magazines including Grow Your Own and edited The Organic Way for six years. Kim contributes regularly to a range of publications, including Gardeners World magazine, The Telegraph, The Daily Express, and The Lancet. She runs Green Rocket Group Ltd and Green Rocket Futures C.I.C.

Kim is the author of The Climate Change Resilient Vegetable Garden (due to be published by Cool Springs Press in Feb 2023) and co-author of The Climate Change Garden published in February 2023. She is a member of the Garden Media Guild and was awarded environmental journalist of the year in 2022, also being a finalist for journalist of the year. She teaches and runs courses on climate change-savvy growing from her training gardens in West Wales and for many other organizations, including The National Botanic Gardens of Wales, The RHS, Garden Organic, Kate Humble’s farm, The Centre for Alternative Technology, and Kirsty Allsopp’s Homemade Festival.

Kim is keen to bring alive the love of wildlife-friendly, organic grow-your-own practices for all. Additionally, she aims to help gardeners, whether new or seasoned, to prepare for the extreme weather we are already starting to experience due to climate change. She has been widely interviewed on a range of radio and TV programs over the years, including Radio 4, The Observer, S4C, and Talk Radio, and she is known for being an engaging and popular speaker.

In 2013, Kim wrote a gardening-for-free series for The Guardian, successfully attempting to grow entirely without spending a penny for a number of years, as the name suggests. She also regularly teaches on this subject for people looking to garden on a tight budget, such as social housing tenants and food bank customers.

Sean Stout

Creative force behind Organic Mechanics

Sean Stout and James Pettigrew are the creative forces behind Organic Mechanics, a garden design, build, and maintenance firm based in San Francisco California. Highlights of their career include a feature in Sunset Magazine, mentions in Garden Design, New York Times and television and radio. They have won many awards, including 5 Gold Medals at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, an American Horticulture Society Environmental Award in 2004, and the prestigious Best in Show. They have shared their home and clients' gardens as part of The Garden Conservancy's Open Days Program.

Courtney Sullivan

Appearance sponsored by

Courtney Sullivan

Regional Director, Education and Engagement National Wildlife Federation

Courtney Sullivan has been developing and managing programs that offer sustainable environmental education opportunities for communities for over twenty-five years. Courtney fell in love with nature on the shores of the Puget Sound and then spent ten years in Alaska exploring the abundant environmental, outdoor, and cultural education career opportunities. Returning to Washington in 2008, Courtney joined the National Wildlife Federation where she cultivates community stewards and education champions, advocates for conservation education policies, and works to build partnerships and coalitions to support sustainable environmental education in the Northern Rockies, Prairies, and Pacific region (WA, OR, HI, AK, ID, MT, ND, SD & CA too). Courtney is dedicated to developing and supporting limitless opportunities for connecting families with nature, environmental education, and community stewardship.

Jen Szabo

Director of Molbak's Landscape Design + Build

Jennifer Szabo is the Director of Molbak’s Landscape Design + Build. A powerhouse in the field, Jen has worked in the landscape architecture, construction, and public art spaces for the last 25 years – working in both public and private built environments, owning her own landscape architecture and construction companies, teaching in the UW Landscape Architecture Department, all while maintaining a deeply meaningful artistic practice. The intersection of these various experiences, she believes, are key to the dynamism that she brings to each. Her work has always been grounded in the human connection to nature, focusing on environmental psychology as the foundation for therapeutic and residential design. In her role leading Molbak’s landscape design studio and sustainable construction division, she works with homeowners to create beautiful spaces that connect people to the earth, the seasons, and to one another.

Jo Thompson

Landscape and garden designer, speaker, and author, The Gardener's Palette

Jo Thompson has an established worldwide reputation as a creative, trusted and sensitive garden designer to private and commercial clients. From her London and East Sussex studios, Jo and her team collaborate with clients not only locally in London, Sussex, Surrey and Kent but far beyond, from a wine estate in the Venice lagoon to a roof terrace in New York.

Projects range from the smallest of rooftop terraces to family gardens large and small, to country estates and heritage landscapes such as London’s Highgate Cemetery, public gardens eg RHS Rosemoor in Devon, restaurant gardens and landscapes, as well as gold medal-winning show gardens.

Listed by both House and Garden and Country Life magazines as one of the country’s top ten garden designers and plantswomen, Jo Thompson has been the recipient of four Gold and five Silver Gilt medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. In 2010 her urban garden when Best in Show and in 2017 she won the People’s Choice award at the first RHS Chatsworth Flower Show.

Jo is also a writer: her 2022 book ‘The Gardener’s Palette’ was named by The Sunday Times as one of the top 10 gardening books. She writes the successful weekly Substack publication, ‘The Gardening Mind’, which Substack has named as one of its featured publications of 2023.

Jo is a Fellow of both the Landscape Institute and the Society of Garden Designers, she is a member of the RHS Gardens Committee and Garden Advisor for RHS Rosemoor, an RHS judge, as well as being a member of the RHS Show Gardens Selection Panel, and is also a tutor at the London College of Garden Design.

Bill Thorness

Author, Cool Season Gardener and Edible Heirlooms and Master Gardener

Bill Thorness is a writer, editor, and gardener who has been working and gardening in Seattle since the mid-1980s. He is the author of two gardening books: "Cool Season Gardener: Extend the Harvest, Plan Ahead, and Grow Vegetables Year Round" and "Edible Heirlooms: Heritage Vegetables for the Maritime Garden", both published by Skipstone Press.

Bill writes for many regional publications, including The Seattle Times. Beyond gardening, he has also written two bicycling guidebooks: "Biking Puget Sound", now in its second edition, and "Cycling the Pacific Coast," both published by Mountaineers Books.

Bill is a Master Gardener in King County, and active in many regional garden organizations. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Northwest Editors Guild, and Pacific Northwest Writers Association.

In addition to his written work, Bill shares his gardening wisdom frequently speaking on edibles at regional nurseries, garden clubs, and garden shows as well as through a streaming class titled ¨Extend the Harvest" available on Craftsy.com.

Mark Turner

Proud member of

Mark Turner

Co-author and photographer of Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, and Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest; owner of Turner Photographics, LLC in Bellingham

Mark Turner is the owner of Turner Photographics, LLC, and has been a professional photographer since 1993, specializing in capturing the beauty of gardens and native plants for books, magazines, and commercial clients. He creates lifestyle portraits for northwest families.

Marks passion for photography and nature is evident as he is the esteemed photographer and co-author of Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest (Timber Press, 2006), "Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest" (with co-author Ellen Kuhlmann, Timber Press, 2014), and "Bellingham Impressions" (Far Country Press, 2007. He has an upcoming publication titled, "Weeds of the Pacific Northwest" (with co-author Sami Gray), which is scheduled for release by Timber in February 2024.

His work has been published in Sunset, Garden Design, Birds & Blooms, American Gardener, Horticulture, This Old House, Organic Gardening and other magazines and in books from Timber Press, Sunset Books, Cool Springs Press, Rodale, Meredith, and Lone Pine publishers. He is past president of the Koma Kulshan chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society, and is a member of Association of Garden Communicators, and Professional Photographers of America.

He has an M.A. in Telecommunications from Kent State University and a B.S. in Audio-visual Communications from Rochester Institute of Technology. Mark has taught photography classes at Siskiyou Field Institute, North Cascades Institute, Whatcom Community College, and other locations in the northwest.

Misty Vanderweele

Award-winning floriculturist and founder of All Dahlia'd Up Flower Farm

Misty Vanderweele is a born and raised 50+ year Alaska resident, author, leader, and farmer-florist who believes flowers are medicine. In 2013, Misty founded All Dahlia’d Up Flower Farm, a floral-tourism destination located in Palmer, after having what she calls a “spiritual rendezvous” in the Dahlia garden a handful of months after the passing of her son.

She is a certified Alaska Grown farmer, proudly joining the ranks of nearly half (47%) of all the farms in Alaska being owned by women. Every summer, you’ll find her tending the flowers, helping customers at her seasonal flower shop, and creating vibrant flower-power magic with all the award winning blooms she grows. Additionally, she hosts several popular field-to-vase, farm-to-table events, and dinner tours featuring local food and live music.

Misty has 9 book titles under her belt, including "Flower Power," which she authored in 2017, full of vibrant floral photography and outlined research sharing the signature poetic resonance that flowers posses. Moreover, she has authored "Thrive Through Tears", a comprehensive collection of three books detailing her son’s first 18 years of life, how her daughter grew up knowing her brother would die, and Misty’s promise to find a way to live a full happy life without him in it.

Kristen VanderYacht

Host of Netflix The Big Flower Fight

Kristen Griffith-VanderYacht is a celebrity floral designer and the owner of floral design studio Wild Bloom in Seattle, Washington. Best known as the sassy head judge with a big heart on Netflix's "The Big Flower Fight," he's been named a top floral designer by Harper's Bazaar. He and his floral designs have been featured in Vogue, O Magazine, WWD, Town and Country, Traditional Home, New York magazine, People, Martha Stewart Weddings, and The Knot; his work has been seen on Good Morning America and E! Network.

Amy Wagenfeld

Occupational therapist and award-winning author, "Therapeutic Gardens: Design for Healing Spaces"

Amy Wagenfeld, PhD, OTR/L, SCEM, EDAC, FAOTA is an occupational therapist, therapeutic and universal design consultant, educator, researcher, and author. She is on the faculty of Boston University’s Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctoral program, the University of Washington’s Department of Landscape Architecture, and the New York Botanical Garden’s Certificate in Therapeutic Horticulture.

She is also Principal of Amy Wagenfeld | Design, a therapeutic design consulting organization. Amy is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association, holds evidence-based design accreditation and certification (EDAC) through the Center for Health Design, specialty certification in environmental modifications (SCEM) through the American Occupational Therapy Association, and certification in Healthcare Garden Design through the Chicago Botanical Garden.

She was recently awarded the American Occupational Therapy Association Recognition of Achievement for her unique blending of occupational therapy and therapeutic design and the American Society of Landscape Architects Outstanding Service Award. Amy publishes and presents widely on topics related to nature and health and is co-author of the award-winning book, "Therapeutic Gardens: Design for Healing Spaces" published by Timber Press. Her newest co-authored books are "Nature Based Allied Health Practice: Creative and Evidence-Based Strategies" published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, and "The Nature of Inclusive Play" (2024 release) published by Routledge, Inc.

Cyndie Warbelow

Greenhouse-nursery owner and operator, and author, Northern Garden Symphony: Combining Hardy Perennials for Blooms All Season

Cyndie Warbelow is a lifelong Alaskan who grew up first in several remote villages and then in a roadhouse on the Alaska Highway. Her education was in biology (B.S. University of Alaska) and zoology, (M.S. University of Michigan), but early on, she discovered horticulture, which led to her career owning and operating two greenhouse-nurseries in Interior Alaska. In 2021, UA Press published her book, Northern Garden Symphony: Combining Hardy Perennials for Blooms All Season.

Throughout her career, Cyndie has taught classes on vegetable gardening, container design, and perennial gardening. She has shared her knowledge thorugh presentations with various organizations and venues, including Master Gardeners, Cooperative Extension, Community Schools Program, The Alaska Botanical Garden, National Garden Club, and many others. Cyndie has been actively involved in agricultural issues in Interior Alaska and is a founding member of the Tanana Valley Farmers Market.

Currently residing in Fairbanks, Cyndie now consults in garden design and teaches classes for the Fairbanks Folk School. Her spare time is spent gardening, rescuing cats, being outdoors, writing, painting, and enjoying coffee and food with her family and friends.

Jim Watts

Jim Watts is the owner of Rent Mason Bees and Watts Solitary Bees. He is a founding member of the Orchard Bee Association, a non-profit which is focused on research and growth of the orchard bee pollination industry and protection of orchard bees. Jim grew up around bees working with his dad in the family bee business. His passion led him to start his own business operating now for over 25 years. His expertise includes commercial pollination with solitary bees, propagating native bees and helping local gardeners with their pollination needs.

Emily Apple Wilkins

Vermiculturist and home gardening consultant

Emily is currently a home gardener who cultivates worms for pleasure and helps friends do the same. They offer private consulting for home gardeners who desire compost systems that complement their garden's aesthetics and lifestyle. After graduating from Cornish College of the Arts in 2001, Emily completed the Master Composter training program through Seattle Tilth. They loved the hands-on approach of Seattle Tilth's learning and realized their preference for being outdoors and "painting with flowers" over being confined in a studio.

For more than ten years, Emily worked at an urban retail garden center in Seattle. They conducted hands-on workshops for both adults and children, covering various composting techniques. Emily's involvement with the National Heirloom Expo began in 2017 when they exhibited their "worm show" in the youth education pavilion. Their display won the ribbon for best display in that category the following year.

In 2018, Emily was hired as the outdoor garden education faculty member at St. Luke's School in Shoreline. They taught home gardening to students from kindergarten to eighth grade for two school years. One of the favorite activities was teaching students how to make compost and feed lunchroom scraps to worms in the school's mixed vegetable and flower garden.

Emily's passion for worm farming took them to various operations in Washington, California, Arizona, and even Cuba. They envision establishing their own worm farm in the future.

Barbara Wise

Horticulturist and author, Container Gardening for All Seasons

For 20+ years Barbara worked in the horticulture business in landscape design, maintenance and specialized in unique container garden displays. Seasonally Barbara and her crews would plant and maintain over 800 planters all over the Nashville, TN area. Over eight years ago she transitioned her skills by joining the team of Crescent Garden, her favorite planter vendor, working in their sales and marketing departments. Barbara is the author of Container Gardening for All Seasons. She has spoken around the country to both professional horticulture groups about the business of container gardening, and to the hobby gardeners about the fundamentals of successful container gardening. When Barbara’s not working for Crescent, you’ll find her gardening with her growing new crew of helpful grandkids.

Tracy Yang

Owner of JARN Co. Flowers

JARN Co. Flowers is owned and operated by second-generation farmers Tracy Yang and Nick Songsangcharntara. Based in Monroe, WA, JARN Co. sells its flowers through both wholesale and retail channels. However, through their avid participation in markets throughout the Seattle Metro area, the pair has become known for their market bouquets, which have become their signature product.

In 2023, Tracy and Nick led a market bouquet seminar at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show and were featured speakers at the Slow Flowers Summit. Recently, JARN Co. was featured on an episode of "Follow the Blooms," a show on Bloom TV that focuses on local flowers.

Ellen Zachos

Proud member of

Ellen Zachos

Award-winning co-host, Plantrama Podcast, and author, The Forager’s Pantry, Backyard Foraging and The Wildcrafted Cocktail

Ellen Zachos is a Harvard graduate and the author of ten books including Mythic Plants, How to Forage for Wild Edibles Without Dying, The Foragerís Pantry, The Wildcrafted Cocktail, and Growing Healthy Houseplants. She also writes a regular column for Edible New Mexico magazine. A former Broadway performer, Ellen was named a Great American Gardener by the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. A long-time instructor at the New York Botanical Garden, Ellen now lives in Santa Fe, NM.

Ellen is the co-host of the award-winning Plantrama podcast and has also received awards from Garden Communicators International for her writing.

Ellen shares recipes and foraging tips on her website (www.backyardforager.com).