Rhonda Fleming Hayes

Rhonda Fleming Hayes is the author of Pollinator Friendly Gardening: Gardening for Bees, Butterflies and Other Pollinators. Rhonda is an award-winning writer and photographer applying her passion for all things plant-related with wit and solid research-based advice. She is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. She contributes unique feature stories to Northern Gardener magazine as well as her popular “Pollinators” column. She has also been published in Southern Living, Mother Earth Living, The Herbalist, Wichita Eagle, Savannah Magazine and many online sites. She is the winner of three GWA Media Awards Silver Medals. Rhonda is a native Californian with Southern roots now living in Minnesota. Following her husband’s nomadic career she has lived and gardened in Tennessee, Kansas (twice), Illinois (twice), Iowa and even England. Regardless of location she has learned to bloom where she’s planted. In between writing assignments in Minnesota she shovels compost or snow depending upon the season. Rhonda gardens in Minneapolis in an urban neighborhood surrounded by woods and water. The abundant quarter-acre is home to many bees, butterflies, birds and beneficial insects. She loves to share the fruits (and veggies too) of her garden with friends, family and wildlife. Rhonda became certified as an Extension Master Gardener in 2000 but has been gardening in some form or fashion since she was a child at her grandmother’s knee. She is a member of the Garden Writers Association, The Herb Society of America, The Xerces Society and the Minnesota State Horticultural Society. She is a trustee of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Check out her blog at www.thegardenbuzz.com