Gillian Garro is a principal in the Oakland landscape design/build firm of Larman/ Garro. Additionally, she is chair of the Oakland Parks Coalition, a group working for improved stewardship of Oakland’s parks and natural areas.

Carol Johanson, a native of Seattle, moved with her hus-band and son to an undeveloped waterfront property on Bainbridge Island in 1988. A number of years later, she retired from careers in banking and teaching to devote full time to developing her ever-expanding garden.

Christine Allen, author of Roses for the Pacific North-west (Steller Press, 1999), is a writer for GardenWise magazine and other international publications. A member of the Great Plant Picks selection committee, she lives at Killara Farm in Langley, BC, where she grows roses and perennials; her roses are for sale at Free Spirit Nursery in Langley.

Stephanie Shigematsu is the Horticulture Supervisor San Diego Zoo Safari Park at San Diego Zoo Global and she is the owner of Shigematsu Horticulture. She is the past Director of Landscape at SeaWorld San Diego.

Nancy Carol Carter, Legal Research Center director and law professor at the University of San Diego, researches horticultural history as a hobby and as a San Diego Historical Society Research Library volunteer. She is currently compiling a definitive bibliography on San Diego horticultural legend, Kate Olivia Sessions.

Mary Robson is coauthor with Debra Prinzing of the Washington & Oregon Gardeners’ Guide (Cool Springs Press, 2005). Mary authors “The Practical Gardener” column for The Seattle Times.

Carol and Barrie Coate are a dynamic husband and wife team of horticulturists. Barrie worked for many years for the Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation and is now a highly respected arborist in private practice. Carol continues to serve on the board of directors of the Foundation. Together, they have created a stunning garden in the mountains southwest of San Jose, California.

Katharine Cook studied French Intensive Biodynamic gardening with Alan Chadwick and is one of the founders of the present Green Gulch Garden at the Zen Center in Marin County. She now adapts Chadwick’s methods to residential gardens in the Bay Area and is a passionate advocate for the integration of home garden design with the goals of watershed restoration.

Susi Torre-Bueno is president of the San Diego Horticultural Society and serves on the board of the Pacific Horticultural Foundation. A passionate gardener since the third grade, when she grew her first radish from seed, her former two-acre Encinitas garden was featured in numerous magazine articles and on HGTV. She is now designing a low-water garden for her new home in Vista.