Recognized Organic Gardening Leaders 2025

I teach do-it-yourselfers how to design their own landscape, have successful garden projects (big and small), and make the world a better place with their opportunity to do some landscaping. State certified Horticulturist, Landscape Designer, Gardening Teacher, and Master Gardener volunteer of 14 years –YouTube Channel 75k+ subscribers (Average views per video: 95k, Median views per video: 33k) –Newsletter List 5k+ subscribers (Average open rate: 48%) –Instagram: 19k+ followers Featured in The Seattle Times: www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/5-weeds-a-northwest-horticulturist-says-you-should-try-eating/ Through my business, Garden Project Academy, I offer live workshops, on-demand online courses, and coaching on landscape design and gardening for beginners and do-it-yourselfers. Email: hello@gardenprojectacademy.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/@gardenprojectacademy Instagram: www.instagram.com/gardenprojectacademy/ Website: www.gardenprojectacademy.com/ 🪴 Landscape design 🪴 Wildlife gardening 🪴 Money-saving tips, landscaping on a budget 🪴 Time-saving tips and low-maintenance landscaping 🪴 Gardening with native plants 🪴 Vegetable gardening 🪴 Ecological best practices 🪴 Pollinator gardening 🪴 Urban foraging 🪴 Composting 🪴 Mulch best practices 🪴 Plant propagation 🪴 Lawn removal methods 🪴 Landscape design for privacy 🪴 Landscape design for slopes and hillsides 🪴 Weeds & what to do 🪴 How to create a landscape design plan

Tatiana Anderson is a tropical plant expert with over 20 years of hands-on experience growing and caring for tropical and subtropical plants. Her work focuses on fruit trees, flowering plants, and climate-sensitive species, with practical guidance based on real growing conditions. She works with a US-based tropical plant nursery that ships plants nationwide and contributes to a large online plant encyclopedia documenting thousands of plant species. Tatiana specializes in plant identification, variety selection, cold protection, and helping gardeners avoid common growing mistakes.

I am currently at Sun Heaven Farms LLC as an Agronomist. My passion is to work with precision agriculture and be a link between new developments at an industry company and the growers. I believe educating growers on the capability of the data they already have could change how they manage their entire operation as well as how they manage specific fields and areas of fields. Precision agriculture is the way of the future not only for helping to increase profits but also to increase efficiency and yields.

Angelika Zaber is a Lawn Care Specialist & Gardening Expert working for Online Turf. She provides exceptional lawn care expertise and gardening advice that encourages both novice and experienced gardeners to have healthy, vibrant outdoor spaces all year round.

Brandon Seymour is the founder of Floridist and Granuly, two South Florida lawn and landscape brands focused on premium turf installation, soil health, and environmentally conscious lawn care. Through Floridist, Brandon has developed a reputation for science-backed sod installation and turf management tailored specifically to South Florida’s unique climate and soil conditions. The Floridist blog and educational content cover a wide range of advanced lawn care topics, including soil biology, irrigation strategy, turfgrass selection, disease prevention, fertilization programs, mowing practices, weed management, and long-term lawn establishment. Much of the content is rooted in real-world field experience, UF/IFAS best practices, and the challenges specific to Florida lawns, rather than generic national lawn care advice. Granuly was created to expand into long-term lawn, tree, palm, and ornamental care, with a focus on soil-first lawn health and lower-impact treatment approaches. Under the Granuly brand, Brandon advocates for chemical-free and low-toxicity lawn care strategies whenever practical, including the use of organic soil amendments, biological stimulants, compost-based nutrition, reduced-pesticide programs, wetting agents, micronutrient balancing, and integrated pest management techniques designed to minimize environmental impact while improving turf resilience. Brandon regularly provides commentary and guidance on topics including St. Augustine and zoysia grass management, sustainable lawn care, lawn renovation, soil conditioning, irrigation efficiency, and environmentally conscious landscape practices for homeowners throughout South Florida.

Entrepeneur and experienced ecommerce specialist. By leveraging my skills in content marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) I've created scalable small businesses that continue to thrive.I love small business and I'm a jack of all trades. I thrive when introduced to new challenges and experiences.

I'm Whitney Klonsky, founder and CEO of Rhubarb, a specialized platform for home gardeners featuring AI that understands your unique growing conditions, a "super-app" for growing food designed specifically for the gardening community. I'm a lifelong home gardener, mother of three, and former coach who has studied horticulture, permaculture, agroecology, and nutrition. I hold professional certifications as a Horticulturist (Cert III, Australia), Precision Nutrition Level 1 coach, and NASM Personal Training with corrective exercise and lifestyle specializations. After spending seven years in Australia and experiencing firsthand how food, health, and climate are interconnected, I’m now back in the Pacific Northwest helping more people get growing, wherever they live. I provide expert insights on a broad range of gardening topics, particularly how they connect with nutrition, fitness, sustainability, and seasonal living. I can speak to everything from homegrown food as part of a broader food security solution, to water-wise gardening, biodiversity, ways to support local ecology through everyday garden choices, and the intersection of technology with traditional growing practices. As tech startup founder I can also speak to my experiences in a late career switch. I’m happy to share timely tips, trends we’re seeing in the Rhubarb community, or provide quotes for upcoming stories. You can also find me at www.joinrhubarb.com.

Lydia Beaumont is a go-to expert in interior design, known for her knack for stylish table settings, blending houseplants seamlessly with home decor, and designing inviting outdoor spaces. She has a real talent for making spaces look stunning while keeping them comfortable and livable. Lydia’s creative touch brings a fresh and vibrant feel to any room or garden she works on.

Horticulturist and plant specialist with 25 years of professional experience spanning ornamental gardening, rare plant cultivation, and applied plant biology. Combines hands-on expertise in companion planting, soil management, and pest control with a research-driven approach grounded in current botanical literature. Manages diverse collections including tropical aroids, orchids, and uncommon succulents, treating each garden as a testing ground for new cultivation techniques. Passionate about translating complex plant science into practical guidance that helps gardeners at every level create thriving, biodiverse spaces.

I'm a dedicated plant research scientist with a deep passion for harnessing the power of science and technology to enhance the field of agriculture. I am an expert in the development of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies aimed at combating diseases in vegetable and fruit crops, both within the greenhouse and field environment, for improved productivity.I find great satisfaction in sharing my extensive agronomic knowledge and promoting agriculture products and services with different stakeholders.

Entrepeneur and experienced ecommerce specialist. By leveraging my skills in content marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) I've created scalable small businesses that continue to thrive.I love small business and I'm a jack of all trades. I thrive when introduced to new challenges and experiences.

Dynamic Senior Content Strategist with a dedication to driving process efficiency and automation through content strategy and industry best practices. Adept at harnessing AI, DEI, + ESG pillars with neuromarketing techniques to deliver compelling communication campaigns and CRM strategy. Well-versed in conducting consumer experience research and advocating for accessibility. Backed by an extensive background spanning diverse industries, including agency, corporate, and freelance work.Founder of Let's Go Compost, a 501(c)3 registered non-profit and community-driven initiative, which provides free compost bins and school gardens through the repurposing of bulk ingredient buckets, impacting the education and landfill management industries.

Dynamic Senior Content Strategist with a dedication to driving process efficiency and automation through content strategy and industry best practices. Adept at harnessing AI, DEI, + ESG pillars with neuromarketing techniques to deliver compelling communication campaigns and CRM strategy. Well-versed in conducting consumer experience research and advocating for accessibility. Backed by an extensive background spanning diverse industries, including agency, corporate, and freelance work.Founder of Let's Go Compost, a 501(c)3 registered non-profit and community-driven initiative, which provides free compost bins and school gardens through the repurposing of bulk ingredient buckets, impacting the education and landfill management industries.

Sarah Menz is a sustainability expert and horticulture practitioner specializing in climate-resilient gardening, urban agriculture, and water-wise growing practices. She holds a master’s degree in sustainability and brings over a decade of experience working at the intersection of water, climate, and the home gardening industry. A certified Master Gardener based in Denver, Sarah advises on horticulture, water efficiency, and sustainable living. Her work focuses on plant care, soil health, and helping gardeners adapt to a changing climate. Sarah also brings a strategic lens to the space as a marketing and content leader. As former Director of Brand Marketing at Rachio, she led content strategy and storytelling around water-efficient landscapes and smart irrigation technology. Her insights have been featured in publications including Homes & Gardens, Real Homes, and The Spruce, where she covers sustainable gardening, water management, and climate-conscious living. Sarah is currently Content Manager at Rula, where she writes about many topics, including the intersection of mental health and environmental change.

Ryan North is a sustainable retail expert, healthy-home advocate, and the co-owner of Moss Envy, a premier organic mattress and eco-luxury bedding showroom based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With over a decade of experience helping consumers navigate the complex world of green textiles and sleep health, Ryan specializes in demystifying third-party eco-certifications (such as GOTS and GOLS) and identifying hidden indoor environmental toxins. An educator at heart, Ryan’s approach centers on transparency and practical, non-toxic living solutions. He is a frequent resource for insights on sleep hygiene, natural allergy mitigation, sustainable consumer trends, and how to cultivate a low-tox bedroom environment.

B.Sc. Biology, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman; PKMP research grant recipient

Ciarán De Buitléar is the founder of Gardeningwell, a family-led wildlife gardening and biodiversity project based in Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland. He works with schools, youth groups, community gardens and local councils to create pollinator-friendly, chemical-free growing spaces and to give children hands-on experience with soil, food and wildlife. Gardeningwell began during the COVID-19 lockdown, when Ciarán and his sons started posting simple seed-planting and “grow your own food” videos for people stuck at home. Those videos led to the discovery and revival of a 150-year-old Victorian walled garden, which is now used for food growing, biodiversity projects and environmental education. The core message is simple and hopeful: every ordinary Irish garden can become a small piece of climate action.

Business + Digital Marketing = Growth

James Bean is a pioneering cannabis industry expert and Founding CEO of Seeds Here Now, the longest continuously operating seed bank in the United States with 15 years of proven leadership. Since 2010, Bean has built an industry-leading catalog featuring 3,500+ strains from 80+ world-class breeders, establishing Seeds Here Now as the premier destination for authentic cannabis genetics. With a Plant Science degree from Oaksterdam University and 15 years specializing in cannabis genetics, Bean brings unparalleled expertise in breeder verification, genetic authenticity, and cultivation science. His knowledge spans feminized, regular, and autoflower seed production, pheno-hunting, breeding practices, and strain lineage documentation. Bean's industry authority is demonstrated through extensive media presence on major cannabis podcasts including The Adam Dunn Show (as "James Bean Man on the Scene"), The Dude Grows Show, The Pot Cast, and Grow Bud Yourself Podcast. He has personally vended at hundreds of cannabis trade shows including High Times Cannabis Cups and Canna Con events, and serves as a cannabis competition judge. As a heavy cannabis consumer with decades of personal experience, Bean possesses exceptional first-hand knowledge of strain effects and quality assessment. His business has served thousands of satisfied customers with germination guarantees and transparent practices, earning recognition including the 2023 Leafly Seed Bank Hall of Fame honor and Forbes media coverage. Bean actively supports cannabis community causes, mentors emerging businesses, and contributes educational content through articles and podcast appearances. His direct relationships with renowned breeders like TH Seeds, Exotic Genetics, La Plata Labs, Snow High Seeds, and Dominion Seed Company underscore his trusted position as the "#1 U.S. Broker of High Quality Cannabis Genetics." Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bean continues to shape cannabis breeding trends, preserve rare genetics, and advance industry professionalism while maintaining Seeds Here Now's position as America's most trusted source for authentic cannabis seeds.