About the author

A gardener, a journalist, and a lifelong student of the natural world

Tom in Taipei during one of two government-invited reporting trips to Taiwan

Tom Oder at the Atlanta Press Club — Tom Oder, Atlanta Press Club

Tom Oder has been digging in Atlanta-area soil for more than three decades — long enough to know what thrives in Southern heat and humidity, and what doesn't stand a chance. Tomoder.com is where he shares what he's learned: what to grow, when to grow it, and why it matters for gardeners in the Southeast.

The Southeast is one of the most rewarding — and most challenging — places in America to garden. The heat, the humidity, the late frosts and early springs, the plants that thrive here and nowhere else. National gardening media rarely speaks to Southern gardeners specifically. That's the gap Tomoder.com is built to fill.

The journalist behind the garden

Tom is an award-winning journalist and editor whose work has taken him around the world — including twice to Taiwan, where the government invited him to report on the island nation's signature agricultural product: orchids. Those trips produced some of the most memorable reporting of his career, and they're the foundation of the orchid series you'll find on this site.

He is a member of the Atlanta Press Club. His professional writing career spans business journalism, environmental reporting, and garden writing — a combination that shapes how he approaches every story on this site: with curiosity, rigor, and a deep respect for the subject.

"The Southeast is one of the most rewarding — and most challenging — places in America to garden."

What's coming

The goal is simple: make Tomoder.com the go-to resource for gardeners in the Southeast — the site you bookmark, share with a friend, and come back to when you're standing in your garden wondering what to do next. New stories publish regularly.

Get new stories in your inbox

Currently on the site

The Taiwan Orchid Series

A five-part deep dive into orchids — from the grocery store to the volcanic mountains of Yangmingshan National Park — drawn from two government-invited reporting trips to Taiwan.

Start with Day 1

The trip that started it all

Taiwan's government invited journalists from around the world to cover the 2010–2011 Taipei International Flora Exposition — one of the largest horticultural events ever staged. Orchid executives, garden writers, and photographers from Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and beyond converged on the island. The Japanese journalist in our group was called home mid-trip when the earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11, 2011.

International press group at a lakeside pavilion during the Taiwan Flora Exposition, 2011 — At a lakeside pavilion during the Flora Exposition — journalists and orchid industry executives from four continents. The orchid executive at center helped arrange greenhouse access that became the heart of this series.

International press group at the Taipei Flora Exposition grounds with sweeping floral displays, 2011 — At the Flora Exposition grounds — the sweeping floral displays behind us stretched the length of a city block. The Japanese journalist at left was called home days later when the earthquake struck. The Dutch photographer at center captured images that ran worldwide.