Harvey has been growing plants since childhood. His first greenhouse and orchids came at about age ten. He has grown plants under lights and in greenhouses in various parts of the country. Harvey has also served as library committee chair of the American Orchid Society and as a librarian in various parts of the country including the California Botanic Garden in Claremont, California. He has grown a wide variety of genera of orchids and is a retired librarian living in Oak Harbor.

Born in England, Karen grew up with a trowel in her hand.

After moving to the Pacific Northwest in 1996 she joined Molbak’s Garden & Home as a garden plant specialist before establishing Le Jardinet in 2006. Whilst initially specializing in custom container gardens, Karen now applies that same attention to detail by designing functional and artistic landscapes. Her designs have been featured in many prestigious publications, including Fine Gardening, Sunset, and Better Homes & Gardens.

She is co-author of two popular books on foliage-driven design: "Gardening with Foliage First" and "Fine Foliage," and her latest book is "Deer-Resistant Design."

When not designing gardens or writing about them, Karen is usually teaching in workshops around the country, as well as through a number of online courses. She has also led garden tours in England, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States.

Whether on the stage or the page, Karen’s aim is always to inspire, educate and share the fun of gardening with her audience.

Craig Cogger was on the faculty at WSU Puyallup as a Soil Scientist from 1984 until retirement in 2015. He published research on organic farming systems and organic nutrient management, taught soils classes for Master Gardeners, and wrote WSU gardening publications. In retirement he volunteers in Tacoma schools leading gardening enrichments and has continued to revise and update WSU gardening publications

Sharon J. Collman retired from WSU Extension after 44 years, and was a founding member of the Master Gardener program. She has worked with WSU Extension, University of Idaho, and US EPA. She has over 80 extension bulletins, magazine articles, and book chapters, many awards and honors, and has been on TV and radio with Ciscoe Morris and Ed Hume. In retirement she remains professionally active. She is currently working on as demonstration pollinator garden and continues to photograph and study insects, water quality, pollinators, plant problem diagnosis for fun.

Dave Pehling, retired WSU Extension Snohomish County Extension Assistant/zoologist/IT tech, joined WSU Extension in Snohomish County for a 6 month position in 1978 and remained until retirement 40+ years later. He has a B.Sc. in zoology from the University of Washington and still occasionally teaches about entomology, plant diagnosis and vertebrate pest management for clubs and the WSU Master Gardener and Livestock Advisor programs. Special interests include mammalogy, gardening, native plants, pest management, parasitic arthropods, and pollinators.

Jessica is a landscape designer based in the San Juan Islands where her work focuses on sustainable site planning, native and habitat-enriching planting plans, and edible garden design. Jessica grew up on Whidbey Island surrounded by the farm fields and forests at Ebey's Landing. After receiving her Bachelor's of Architectural History from the Claremont Colleges and Master's of Landscape Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design, she returned to the Pacific Northwest. Jessica worked at the Seattle Urban Farm Company for four years before founding Field & Grove Design Studio on Lopez Island in 2016. She has previously spoken at the Living Future UnConference, the American Institute of Architects, the American Community Gardening Association's Annual Conference, Pecha Kucha, and the Lopez Island Garden Club.

Jessica Dahl is the design principal of Field & Grove on Lopez Island, which specializes in sustainable site planning, native and habitat-enriching planting plans, and edible garden design. Jessica has a Master's of Landscape Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has previously spoken at the Living Future UnConference, the American Institute of Architects, the American Community Gardening Association's Annual Conference, Pecha Kucha, and the Lopez Island Garden Club.

Sue Goetz is an award-winning garden designer, writer, and speaker. Through her business, she works with clients to personalize outdoor spaces – from garden coaching to complete landscape design. Writing and speaking are other ways Sue shares her love for the garden, offering seminars and hands-on workshops. She is the author of the books "Complete Container Herb Gardening," "A Taste for Herbs," and "The Herb Lover’s Spa Book."

Marcia Dillon has been a Master Gardener since 2012 where she has managed the tomato beds and greenhouse operations at the Bellevue Demonstration Garden. She has grown hundreds of varieties in a quest to find the perfect tomato for our climate and is also involved in breeding trials for the Dwarf Tomato Project.

Carol Anne, an Island County Master Gardener, has a passion for gardening, landscape and floral design. Much of her botany, horticultural and design knowledge was gained during her undergraduate years at Cornell University. Her gardens and floral designs have been featured in numerous garden tours and fund-raising events. As a basket weaver and stone sculptor, Carol Anne found making kokedama a new and relaxing way to use many of her design and construction skills.

Dawn is an avid gardener, thoughtful landscape planner and sought-after floral designer. As soon as she could handle a hose, spending time in her family’s extensive flower and vegetable gardens became her true passion. During her teenage years she worked for florists after school and on weekends. This experience combined with her creative floral design skills and her entrepreneurial mindset placed her in a position for employment as a floral shop manager. Her stature in this profession was recognized and she was asked to join the Washington state’s teleflora Board of Directors. Her talents were used to develop design programming to help local floral shops learn and grow. Today, Dawn has focused primarily on the outdoors and has her own consulting practice assisting clients in planning and maintaining their greenspaces. When her schedule permits, she also provides floral design planning and execution for special events. Dawn is particularly drawn to container gardening and kokedama has become another favorite.

Sue has been a Master Gardener here on Whidbey since 2018. She has grown strawberries in 7 states from hot weather to Alaska. Her gardening experience includes home gardens and indoor planting in all those states. As Executive Director, Sue enjoyed (and learned a lot) overseeing the development and maintenance for the new community garden and trail with small plots, large fountain area, butterfly segment, dry gardens and 474 roses on the 11-acre property at Rosewood Retirement Community in Bakersfield, CA. Retired now, her best efforts have been installing her small home beauty and bounty landscape here on south Whidbey (with lots of strawberries!).

Sue Goetz is an award-winning garden designer, writer, and speaker. Through her business, she works with clients to personalize outdoor spaces – from garden coaching to complete landscape design. Writing and speaking are other ways Sue shares her love for the garden, offering seminars and hands-on workshops. She is the author of the books "Complete Container Herb Gardening," "A Taste for Herbs," and "The Herb Lover’s Spa Book."

Eva Gordon has a degree in Zoology and Master’s work in Biology. She is a science educator who taught AP Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science for twenty years. She was instrumental in bringing Biotechnology to the SFUSD and San Mateo County School Districts. She has also taught STEM programs from elementary to high school level. Eva is acting Education Chair for the North American Mycological Association, is currently an author of fantasy fiction, and a Master Naturalist and is working on a non-fiction book titled, "Animal Mycophiles."

Mara is caretaker of the flower garden at the Whidbey Institute and has been gardening personally and professionally for over forty years. She is the author of "The Lazy Gardener" and "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Flower Gardening."

Toni Grove is a Master Gardener alum with a B.S. in Herbal Sciences from Bastyr University. She is the former nursery manager at Lavender Wind Farm and currently works for Mary's Weeding Service, keeping Whidbey Island tidy, one flower bed at a time.

Robert has a B.S. degree in Conservation and Natural Resource Management from North Carolina State U. His minor in Soil Science led to research and consulting work with soils, and eventually to designing septic systems. He worked for Island County Environmental Health, permitting septic systems, and seeing lots of Whidbey soils in perk test pits. Robert has also worked for the Whidbey Island Conservation District as a Farm and Forest Planner. He has managed ten acres on Whidbey for 23 years, growing mostly trees and shrubs. He just built a greenhouse and is currently expanding his gardens to produce more vegetables.

Don grew up on a farm in Eastern Colorado. He was an ASE-certified Master Mechanic and professional heavy diesel mechanic for 30 years and is now retired.  As a Skagit County Master Gardener, Don teaches tool sharpening and care for the Skagit Extension Master Gardener program and maintains all the tools for their Discovery Garden.

Tricia is a former American Camellia Society member who has given talks on camellias around the state of Washington. But more than that, camellias are her passion.

Martha is a San Diego, California expatriate, who has lived on the Island for 17 years. She is a retired landscape/park maintenance professional with over 40 years of horticultural experience who relearned her knowledge to suit the Pacific Northwest. Martha has been a volunteer at and supporter of Meerkerk Gardens since 2006, and an Island County Master Gardener for 10 years. Along with her spouse, Ed, also a horticulturist and Master Gardener, and their two rowdy Shelties, Martha loves combining beauty with wildlife friendly garden practices. She takes great pleasure in the blooms, creatures, and birds in her forested home landscape.

Dawn's fascination with plants and how satisfying their growth and care can be started when she began making connections with Urban Gardens to obtain produce for the restaurants that she cooked in. Getting to spend time with the gardeners and seeing their passion and love for what they were growing was inspirational and Dawn thought someday she would learn how to grow her own garden, and now she has started to!! Dawn is looking forward to all that is to come, and all she can contribute to this amazing community of Master Gardeners.

Don Krafft is a WSU Island County Master Gardener and former Master Composter in Santa Clara County, California. He is focused on practicing and teaching soil and water management and composting for home and community gardeners. In addition to the Master Gardener and Master Composter trainings, Don has completed the comprehensive Soil Food Web and Microscope Soil Analysis courses and is currently managing composting piles at home and at the South Whidbey Tilth Community Garden.

Paul Kusche is a two-state Master Gardener, having completed training first in Bonner County, Idaho in 2015 just after retirement and again in Kitsap County, Washington in 2019 when he relocated back to the Northwest. While growing dahlias is his passion (see the Papa Paul’s Dahlias cover story in the "July 2020 West Sound Home & Garden Magazine"), he has also been involved in teaching alternative gardening techniques including Edible Landscaping and Growing in Small Spaces.

Paul graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a BBA and MBA. He is a former Marketing and Marketing Research Instructor, a frequent speaker at garden clubs and Master Gardener seminars, and a writer for the American Dahlia Society’s Bulletin. As a Kitsap County Master Gardener, he is a Clinic Lead, President of the Foundation, and speaker for Clean Water Kitsap – Septic Sense and Pierce County Septic Seminars.

Paul Kusche
Master Gardener since 2015
Growing Dahlias for over 20 years

Seth Luginbill currently serves as the Noxious Weed Program Coordinator for the Island County Noxious Weed Control Board. Seth's background is in botany and natural resource management.

Vanca has been gardening for decades, having owned and operated a wholesale aquatic plant nursery and a retail nursery. She partnered with Judith Jones to build over 21 display gardens for the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. Vanca recently developed a website listing all the nurseries in Oregon and Washington west of the Cascades. She also makes colorful banner/flags and rustic furniture from corkscrew willow.

Deb earned her B.S. in Horticulture from South Dakota, so not a lot of her degree applies to the Pacific Northwest other than basic botany. She spent 20 years in the Navy, traveling the world and learning different ecosystems, and she appreciated that the Navy funded her explorations. She has been a Master Gardener since 2006, and also has a teaching certificate in the sciences, hence her love of teaching. Deb appreciates feedback and is always seeking to enhance her classes.

Anza Muenchow has perfected the art of culinary horticulture by growing food at her two-acre Maha Farm for the past 15 years. But beyond her farming expertise, she is also passionate about improving fresh food access for her community, especially low-income families. And, as a Master Gardener since 1992, she is the go-to expert for other Master Gardeners who want information on crop varieties and maximizing their harvests. Anza also volunteers for Master Gardeners at South Whidbey Tilth.

Tobey Nelson has a B.S. in Landscape Horticulture from Michigan State University and is a Certified Professional Horticulturist. She has been designing, installing, and maintaining gardens for over 29 years. Tobey focuses on "horticulture for a healthy planet" encompassing environmentally responsible approaches, such as drought-tolerant plantings, planting for pollinators, building soil health, and using sustainable floral design methods.

Dr. Pelant has worked with federal, tribal, state and private entities throughout the Puget Sound on culturally appropriate ecological restoration. He participated in the work led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in removing golden paintbrush (Castilleja levisecta) from the Endangered Species List.

A veterinarian by training, Robert has worked and lived most of his adult life in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. His focus was holistic development for mostly rural peoples. In 2009 he founded the Pacific Rim Institute, from which he recently retired. He has worked to combine his global experiences with scientifically based approaches to restoring threatened ecosystems. Robert obtained his BS degree in 1977 and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Minnesota in 1981.

Lisa started beekeeping on Whidbey Island over 18 years ago. She has worked with large beekeepers and other hobby beekeepers. Her bees have been all over the island, pollinating farms and small orchards. After becoming a Master Gardener Lisa embraced native pollinators as fiercely as her honey bees. Now she plants her gardens with an eye towards helping the pollinators in her yard.

Susie Reynolds is a Master Gardener and horticultural specialist. She has in-depth knowledge of how to grow and maintain rhododendrons and azaleas, after being associated with the gardens for 21 years.

Lore is a well-known member of the garden community in the Pacific Northwest. She and her husband Jim own and operate Rarity Gardens, a small perennial nursery specializing in Hosta, daylilies, and especially peonies. A nurseryman’s daughter, Lore has been growing and propagating a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants since childhood. She studied botany at the University of Michigan and currently grows more than 850 different peony cultivars.

A long-time member of the Pacific Northwest Peony Society, Lore is also Past-President of the American Peony Society where she was instrumental in establishing evaluation criteria and judges’ training for the Society’s Award of Landscape Merit selection process. She is the recipient of the prestigious Award of Horticulture from the Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs and is a popular speaker for garden clubs, plant societies, and Master Gardener groups. Her mission is to introduce gardeners to modern peonies as the perfect choice for both the landscape and vase.

Lisa Taylor is a freelance garden speaker, educator, consultant and author of "The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide, 2nd edition" and "Your Farm in the City: An Urban Dweller’s Guide to Growing Food and Raising Animals." She is passionate about teaching people of all ages how to grow their own food. She offers programs in-person and virtually. Lisa’s online edible gardening courses for adults, children and educators can be found at www.gardenwithlisa.com. For Lisa, eating is the main reason for growing plants.

Dave has been growing dahlias since the 1960s. He has over 60 years of gardening experience and has taught popular classes on vegetable growing, trees, pruning, and more. He has been the "Field Boss" of the Lord's Garden for 21 years, providing fresh vegetables and fruit to those in need in Oak Harbor and Coupeville, Washington.

Dan Vorhis has a B.S. in Agriculture from The Ohio State University, with over 40 years of experience in fruit horticulture. Dan and his wife Bernadine Mahar own and operate Muscle and Arm Farm, a small farm and orchard in Freeland, Washington.

James Watson is a Natural Resource Planner for the Whidbey Island Conservation District with a background as a general contractor with work focused around landscaping using native plants and low impact hardscaping, as well as wetland mitigation. Before that, he spent many years working in habitat restoration and in native plant nurseries. He currently partners with Island County for assistance with planting plans and shoreline/bluff management in the Shore Friendly Program, as well as providing planting plans, rain garden designs, and consultation on working with natural landscapes in his role as a Natural Resource Planner. As well as working for WICD, he is a board member for the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation.

Vine expert Laura Watson has been gleefully growing vines for over 40 years and enjoys sharing her ever increasing knowledge with others. As a member of several clematis societies and an attendee at annual international clematis conferences in Europe and the US, Laura continually learns more about clematis and other vines. Laura is a writer, blogger, and horticulturalist, who is proud to be a King County Master Gardener and a PlantAmnesty Master Pruner. She has published clematis articles in "Clematis International" and the "PlantAmnesty Newsletter." Check out her blog, Clematisinseattle.com.

Diana Wisen has been a WSU Master Gardener for 32 years. She has been a Skagit County Master Gardener trainer for 20 years, served as Chair of the Outreach and Education Committee and of the Speakers Bureau, and regularly teaches gardening classes to a variety of audiences.