Valerie Easton, a garden writer for the Seattle Times, is also the author of several books on gardens and gardeners. She manages a small but highly productive garden in Langley, Washington; there, she first began to appreciate the value of designing for low maintenance, resulting in her latest book, The NEW Low-Maintenance Garden (Timber Press 2009).
Eileen Shields’ early gardening years were spent in Western Pennsylvania where her mother, Mildred, grew nearly everything the family ate and, come September, had canned, pickled, or frozen anything that wasn’t moving. Eileen has, so far, resisted the temptation to revisit this tradition, thanks to the ever-present snails in her garden.
Suzanne Biaggi combines her training in sculpture with her love for landscapes in her design/project consultation studio, S.BIAGGI/sculptural landscapes (www.sbiaggi.com), in San Francisco and Petaluma, California. She has recently become certified in Permaculture Design and is now also a Green Roof Consultant.
Max Howard, a senior at Bard College, has been volunteering for OBUGS since he was ten years old. He has contributed in such capacities as teaching assistant, funding researcher, editorial writer, and garden hand; he plans to continue his work with OBUGS in the future.
Paul Lee Cannon writes and gardens in Oakland, California. He is also the owner of Paul-Lee-Nation Plant & Garden Styling, a multi-service practice dedicated to beautifying homes and businesses with plants, inside and out. Learn more at paulleenation.com and follow Paul on Instagram: @paulleenation.
Andreas Hessing is an artist and landscape designer. Working in collaboration with Karen Bonfigli an artist and educator. They have been creating site-specific installations for more than fourteen years, focusing on issues related to the native flora and fauna of California and the human role in regional ecosystems. Of their thirty-five temporary and five permanent installations, most have been in nontraditional public venues in Southern California.
George Lasch, Border Supervisor for the NPA border, is guiding it through its major renovation. He honed his skills at Longwood Gardens, RHS garden Wisley, and the Missouri Botanic Garden before settling in Seattle. A lifelong gardener, he enjoys connecting people and plants.
Master Gardener
San Jose, California
