My latest blog: Meet the orchid nothogenus Oderara

Since November 2002, thanks to the Royal Horticultural Society, my name is preserved in botanical nomenclature with the suffix -ara attached. The RHS named an orchid nothogenus after me — and I've never told the full story. Until now.

Pollinator Census Countdown has begun!

The final countdown has begun for the annual August 21–22 Pollinator Census. To learn more about how gardeners, schools, families, nature centers, Master Gardeners, Extension offices, Scouts, libraries and community organizations can help create one of the largest community science snapshots of pollinator activity in the Southeast, visit the 2026 Great Southeast Pollinator Census. It is open to residents of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.

Blooming now in my garden

Phlox paniculata 'Jeana' is putting on a show right now — and the pollinators can't get enough of it. This remarkable cultivar, discovered growing wild along a Tennessee riverbank, produces smaller florets than most summer phlox, which turns out to be exactly what butterflies and bees prefer. It blooms for weeks, shrugs off powdery mildew better than almost any other tall phlox, and stops traffic in the summer garden. If you don't have it, you want it.

In progress: A children's picture book

I have written a children's picture book about the epic migration of the monarch butterfly. When I was developing the idea for the book, one of the most respected voices in pollinator science in the Southeast told me I would need a new angle. I found one.

The book is built around new tracking technology that allows children — in a classroom setting or at home — to follow tagged monarchs in real time via a smartphone app, turning the reading experience into a living, interactive journey. The classroom application in particular suggests strong potential for school system adoption. This technology angle makes it meaningfully different from previously published children's picture books about monarchs. I am seeking representation for a single book, but the real goal is a trilogy covering the full migration.

The manuscript — scientifically accurate and narrative-driven — has received a very positive review from the director and an acquisitions editor at a major academic press, an editor with a children's book background who offered specific suggestions to strengthen it. All have been incorporated. I am now seeking literary representation.