Linda Askey is a horticulturist by training and a gardener by practice. With a B.S. and M.S. in horticulture she went to work for Southern Living Magazine straight out of college. After 21 years she left to pursue the experience of gardening, garden design, and freelance garden writing. In addition, she drives dog rescue transports, kayaks, and enjoys live music and travel with her husband. When not at the computer, she is frequently found at the business end of a garden hose, or at least she was last year.

James has been with the City of Birmingham over 33 years and is currently the Director for the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. His work history includes greenhouse, nursery, garden center, landscape, lawn care and sports field experience and management. He is an active member and past president of the Alabama Turfgrass Association. Since 2007, he has served the entire Green Industry by attending many meetings at the local and state level regarding the state’s water policies. Most recently, he served on the Governor’s Alabama Water Agencies Work Group where he held a position on the Water Conservation, Efficiency and Reuse Panel and helped co-author the Green Industry Sub-Panel Position Paper. Throughout his career he has designed, installed and maintained season flower beds. Some of his best work memories involve working with seasonal color.

Jim Jacobi is employed with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System as an Extension Plant Pathologist. He has a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Vermont, an M.S. in Forest Pathology from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Auburn University. For the last 17 years, he has managed the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Prior to working for the Extension System he was employed as a field development representative for ISK Biosciences and Zeneca Ag Products.

John Nabors is currently Alabama Extension's Green Industry Training Coordinator and serves as the Alabama Green Industry Training Center's Executive Director. He has a B.S. degree in Horticulture from Auburn University. His prior experience includes 15 years with a landscape firm in Birmingham, AL managing on-site crews, floriculture department, safety program, and fleet management. In addition, he has 5 years experience in the wholesale / retail greenhouse, nursery, and garden center sectors.

Daniel graduated from Auburn University with a B.S. in Horticulture (2000) and an M.S. in Horticulture (2002). After graduate school, he went on to be the Horticulturist at Kalmia Gardens in Hartsville, SC. He joined the SiteOne Landscape Supply team in 2005 in Birmingham, AL. He is currently the Agronomic Coordinator for SiteOne’s Southeast Region - AL, AR, FL (panhandle), GA, LA, MS, TN.