LUKE DAHLBERG BIO

With over twenty years of experience in propagating midwestern native plants, Luke Dahlberg turned his passionate backyard hobby into a career. Luke earned his degree majoring in Ornamental Horticulture and a minor in Business from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville. After working in the commercial nursery trade for several years, Luke landed his current position as Conservation Seed Program Manager at Citizens for Conservation, an organization that he started volunteering at in 2004 and became part of the organization's staff in 2018 where he continues CFC's mission of restoring and educating others about the ecosystems of the Chicago area. Collaborating with Lake County Forest Preserves, Luke was able to use their greenhouse to propagate rare native plants and learn from germination trials the best practices to use to reintroduce them into the wild in preserved plant communities. Luke loves to share what he has learned in plant propagation with others through his Instagram page, and had had opportunities to speak at the Wild Things Conference in Chicago, teach native plant propagation classes at The Morton Arboretum, and speak at a TEDx event and posts on the Grassland Restoration Network blog. In his spare time, Luke enjoys photographing birds and wildflowers and spending time with friends and his family.

You can learn more from Luke by visiting his Instagram page @seedtech_luke and Citizens for Conservation at citizensforconservation.org.

THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST

The Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes. He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.

You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com. He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter plant•ed, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe. Until next time, #keepgrowing!

Discount link for upcoming webinar Matrix Planting Made Easy on Monday August 4 at 6 pm CDT.

KELLY HOLDBROOKS BIO

With decades of experience in Western North Carolina’s vast horticulture, Kelly Holdbrooks demonstrates her passion for fostering human connection with nature in everything she does. For more than a decade as executive director of Southern Highlands Reserve, a nonprofit native plant garden and research center on Toxaway Mountain, Kelly has built a network of conservationists and advocates for preserving the unique ecosystem of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Kelly’s research in experiential methods and the humanism of nature earned her a master’s degree in landscape architecture, with honors, from the College of Environment and Design at the University of Georgia. She also earned bachelor’s degrees in international studies and political science from Rhodes College and was a three-sport NCAA athlete. She is a founding member of the Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (SASRI), a public-private partnership working to restore the second most endangered ecosystem in the United States, the high elevation spruce-fir forests of the Southern Blue Ridge. She is a member of the Red Spruce Technical Advisory Board (RSTAB), headed by The Nature Conservancy, to make recommendations to the U.S. Forest Service for their regional planning efforts. She also participates in the quarterly All Lands Meeting held by the U.S. Forest Service to develop a long-term collaborative plan for natural resource conservation across Region 8. Kelly enjoys hiking, gardening, yoga, and playing in nature with her family. She is proud to call Western North Carolina her home.

You can learn more about Kelly and Southern Highlands Reserve by visiting their website and Instagram @southern_highlands_reserve.

THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST

The Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes. He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.

You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com. He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter plant•ed, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe. Until next time, #keepgrowing!

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Discount link for upcoming webinar Matrix Planting Made Easy on Monday August 4 at 6 pm CDT.

CLAIRE CHAMBERS BIO

Claire Chambers is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Lab, a public benefit company designing high-performance plant systems like native wildflower meadow sod inspired by nature. She is also the principal of Flowerlands, a small landscape design studio.

After twenty years as an entrepreneur and executive in the world of digital commerce, Claire left to study at New York Botanical Garden’s School of Professional Horticulture, where she received a certificate in landscape design. Today, Claire is focused on advisory, incubation and investment work that supports the broader mission of re-wilding the built world.

Previously, Claire founded and operated Journelle, a woman’s clothing start-up; she led a multi-billion dollar P&L within Walmart; and served as president at Food52, a private-equity backed media & commerce business, where she spearheaded growth across e-commerce, retail, marketing, merchandising, brand partnerships and community. Claire holds a degree in Economics & Studio Art from Wellesley College.

Claire lives in the lower Hudson Valley with her husband and their two young daughters, where she enjoys cooking for family & friends, hiking, growing flowers, and riding horses.

You can learn more about Claire and Meadow Lab at meadowlab.com and on Instagram at @meadowlab.

THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST

The Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes. He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.

You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com. He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter plant•ed, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe. Until next time, #keepgrowing!

Discount link for upcoming webinar Designing with Plant Shape and Form on Monday June 30 at 6 pm CDT

ROCHELLE GREAYER BIO

Rochelle Greayer is the current editor of The American Gardener magazine for the American Horticultural Society and a garden designer, writer, and the creative force behind Pith + Vigor, a literary newspaper and online magazine for garden enthusiasts. She is the author of Cultivating Garden Style, a rich book that blends design guidance with inspiration, and has co-authored The Essential Garden Design Workbook and The Garden Makers Manual. Rochelle also founded the acclaimed blog Studio ‘g’, co-founded Leaf Magazine, and contributed a long-running garden column for Apartment Therapy.

A graduate of the English Gardening School in London, Rochelle has designed gardens for private residences and hotels across the globe since 2002. Before her horticultural career, she was a literal rocket scientist where she worked in aerospace and software engineering, helping launch Russia’s first commercial satellite and riding in the cockpits of F-14s and F-18s. Though she didn’t make it to space, she likes to say her fingerprints did. Rochelle brings both scientific curiosity and creative flair to everything she does.

THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST

The Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes. He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.

You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com. He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter plant•ed, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe. Until next time, #keepgrowing!

SAM HOADLEY

Sam Hoadley is the Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center where he evaluates native plant species, old and new cultivars, and hybrids in the Trial Garden. Sam earned his degree in Sustainable Landscape Horticulture from the University of Vermont.

THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST

The Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes. He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.

You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com. He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter plant•ed, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe. Until next time, #keepgrowing!

THERESA CRIMMINS BIO

Theresa Crimmins is an internationally recognized phenology researcher, director of the USA National Phenology Network, and associate professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona. In her role with the Network, Theresa supports an amazing team and works enthusiastically to support the growth and use of phenology data and resources curated by the USA-NPN, involvement in Nature’s Notebook, and a broader appreciation of phenology among scientists and non-scientists alike.

Theresa has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in journals including Nature, Geophysical Research Letters, Global Change Biology, and Journal of Ecology. Her writing has appeared in Scientific American, The Hill, and the Old Farmer’s Almanac, and Nautilus Magazine. She shared her thoughts about the importance of observing phenology in a TEDx talk in October 2024 and her book, Phenology, was published through MIT Press in early 2025.

THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST

The Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes. He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.

You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com. He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter plant•ed, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe. Until next time, #keepgrowing!

JOHN MAGEE BIO

John Magee has been designing and building landscapes in the Washington DC Metro area and beyond for the past 30 years. After receiving his B.S. degree in Agriculture from the Ohio State University and spending a few years training and showing horses, he settled into the landscaping industry as the General Foreman of Pennsylvania’s highest award-winning landscaping firm. While in Pennsylvania, he became a volunteer at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary where he met his wife Susana and was introduced to habitat gardening and the use of native plants in the landscape. He now operates his own award-winning design firm Magee Design in the beautiful countryside of Middleburg, VA where he also enjoys kayaking and taking long walks with his wife and dogs Shaq & Dilly. He created and hosts the award-winning Native Plant Podcast to help inform the public about the benefits of landscaping with native plants.

THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST

The Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes. He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.

You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com. He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter plant•ed, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe. Until next time, #keepgrowing!

SARAH SIKICH AND RYAN WATSON BIO

Sarah Sikich and Ryan Watson are dedicated urban orchard advocates, spreading The Giving Grove’s mission to grow sustainable community orchards nationwide.

Sarah, Director of Marketing and Communications, began her journey with The Giving Grove as a volunteer at the first little orchard, witnessing how urban orchards can transform neighborhoods. Combining her background in communications with her passion for gardening, she now works to expand the reach of community orchards across the country.

Ryan, National Orchard Operations & Education Manager, brings over a decade of experience in urban agriculture. After co-founding North Brooklyn Farms and developing public green spaces in New York City, he now lives in the Catskill Mountains, managing an heirloom apple orchard at Wild Russet Farm with his wife. His expertise in community greening and orchard care guides The Giving Grove’s programs nationwide.

Together, Sarah and Ryan bring hands-on experience and practical knowledge to the world of urban orchards, helping communities grow sustainable green spaces that nourish neighborhoods.

You can learn more about Giving Grove at their website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube.

THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST

The Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes. He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.

You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com. He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter plant•ed, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe. Until next time, #keepgrowing!