Nathan Smith is a horticulturist for the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley, where he is responsible for maintaining the California Native Garden. When not gardening, he enjoys writing, garden design, surfing, and hiking in the state’s botanical wonderlands.

Barbara Tuffli has had a life-long interest in gardens and a particular interest in camellias. Her own garden in Atherton, California includes 500 camellias in a beautifully landscaped setting with many other woody plants. She is president of the American Camellia Society.

Carolyn Jones is the director of the Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, where she is also in charge of the Great Plant Picks program. She worked for many years at the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a horticultural technical editor, and is the author of two books and numerous magazine articles.

Lee Neff is a garden writer and occasional contributor to Pacific Horticulture. She lives and gardens in Kingston, Washington, where she is active with the Flotsam and Jetsam Garden Club and the Northwest Horticultural Society. Her husband John M Neff, MD, is director of the Center for Children with Special Needs at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Both Lee and John have been enthusiastic supporters of the Seattle Children’s PlayGarden.

Kathy Musial is curator of living collections at the Huntington Botanical Gardens where she has worked for more than twenty-five years. She serves on the board of directors of Pacific Horticultural Society, leads tours for the Society, and is a collaborator on the soon-to-be-published Conifers around the World.

Richard G Turner Jr is the editor emeritus of Pacific Horticulture. After receiving degrees in architecture and landscape architecture from the University of Michigan more than thirty years ago, he escaped to California, where he has worked in the fields of garden design, public garden education and administration, and garden publishing. His small, chemical-free San Francisco garden provides habitat for wildlife while serving as a test ground for mediterranean-climate plants.

Ray Collett is the founder and director emeritus of the Arboretum at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he was responsible for developing the extensive Australian Collection. Among his many interests are the Australian fuchsias (Correa spp.), of which he has introduced several named selections to the nursery trade.