Meet Linda Cochran, a home gardener in Port Ludlow, Washington, Zone 8. She has embraced native plants in her gardening and strives to create beautiful, naturalistic gardens with natives. How long have I been gardening in Port Ludlow? Before moving to Port Ludlow, I had a large well known garden on Bainbridge Island which I created over the 20 years I lived there. Since moving to Port Ludlow in 2013, I have developed my much smaller garden, using a lot of natives that I grow from seed. It is not an exclusive native garden, however. I also spend a lot… 

Meet Kate Bodin, Executive Director of Portland Botanical Gardens, recently-retired instructor of horticulture at Portland Community College, and Registered Horticultural Therapist. Kate gardens in Portland in USDA Zone 8b, Sunset Zone 6. Additionally, Kate shared the plans for PBG in an online program which you can view below. What garden trends am I embracing in the future? I’m currently moving away from as much irrigation as possible and using more climate appropriate plants. It’s a long process and I may never completely give up some of my water hogging plants, but I’m in the midst of having the lawn and sunburned… 

Meet Scot Medbury, Executive Director of Sonoma Botanical Gardens. Scot has managed various public gardens including Brooklyn Botanic Garden and San Francisco Botanical Garden. Additionally, he is excited to share a new personal garden project on the southern Oregon Coast.  Scot currently gardens in Glen Ellen, CA (USDA Zone 9b; Sunset Zones 15 & 16) and Curry County, Oregon (USDA Zone 9b; Sunset Zone 17). What are some of the more unusual plants or genera that I am looking forward to growing in Curry County? Araliads, citrus, Maddenii series rhododendrons; select palms, tree ferns, bromeliads, proteas, and araucariads; mild-temperate Southern… 

Meet Darcy Daniels, garden designer and creator of eGardenGo, a resource she created to help gardeners easily choose beautiful plant combinations to reflect their personal style.  Darcy gardens in NE Portland, USDA Zone 8b, and we are excited to feature her profile on the HPSO blog so we can all get to know her better!  How did I become involved in gardening professionally? I’d always loved plants when I was growing up, but it wasn’t until I bought a house in 1998 that things changed. The house is a small bungalow, and when I moved in, it had no garden… 

Meet Maurice Horn, soon-to-be-retired co-owner of Joy Creek Nursery, Scappoose, Oregon. He gardens in Sauvie Island, USDA Zone 8 (7B) and has contributed articles to Horticulture, The International Clematis Journal, and the like. Maurice generously shared his knowledge and experience with HPSO in this profile. Enjoy! My favorite book or garden writer: Over the last ten years, I have not had much time to read garden books. Instead, I have concentrated on plant monographs and publications that keep me up to date on plant nomenclature and new introductions. I also subscribe to The Garden magazine which is published by the…