I've been a gardener all my life and earned an MS degree in Botany from the University of Maryland. But, all of my previous experience and education did not help one bit when my husband and I moved to northeast Florida in 2004 and attempted to garden here. My Florida gardening failures started my new career as a garden writer. I've written five books and hundreds of articles and posts. I've covered a wide range of topics over the years, but my writing is not an armchair or ivory tower exercise. I'm out in my yard with dirt under my fingernails, testing techniques and examining the results as I work to make our landscape more sustainable.
I am an active member of the Florida Native Plant Society (www.fnps.org) and urge you to join a local chapter, attend their educational meetings, go on their guided field trips to some of the local sections of "The Real Florida," and participate in their outreach events. If you attend the annual conference, look me up, because I'll probably be there to continue my learning process about my adopted home state.
Green gardening matters,
Ginny Stibolt
www.GreenGardeningMatters.com