Symposium - Speakers

Speakers

Opening Keynote and Session Speaker Jared Barnes, Ph.D.

Dr. Jared started gardening when he was five years old; since then he has enthusiastically pursued how best to cultivate plants and cultivate minds. He currently fulfills those passions as an award-winning associate professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX, where he stewards the Plantery, SFASU’s student botanic garden. He writes a weekly newsletter titled plant•ed that was featured in the NY Times, hosts The Plantastic Podcast, and gardens with his wife Karen and daughter Magnolia at their smallholding Ephemera Farm.

Upon obtaining his Ph.D. in horticultural science from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, he interned the summer of 2008 at The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA, and traveled around the US and into 11 countries to gain a national and global perspective of horticulture.

Recent awards include the 2021 Stephen F. Austin State University Teaching Excellence Award, 2019 Perennial Plant Association’s Academic Award, 2017 Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful Sustainability Award, and 2016 Perennial Plant Association’s Young Professional of the Year. He was also a member of GPN’s 2016 Class of 40 Under 40.

Dr. Jared's passion has been recognized by peers in interviews in NY Times, People, Organic Gardening, Native Plants Healthy Planet podcast, Greenhouse Grower, AmericanHort Connect, Ken Druse’s Real Dirt, and Nursery Management. His articles have appeared in The American Gardener, Fine Gardening, and Carolina Gardener.

Opening Keynote: Thrivable Perennials for the South

In the south horticulturists want perennials that are not only sustainable, but also thrive in a variety of environments. In this engaging talk, Dr. Jared shares stellar perennials he has grown and seen in his travels across the southern states.

Session Topic: Elevate Your Landscape with Great Background Plants

Feel like your plantings are a little flat? Join Dr. Jared as he shows you plants that can give your landscape a boost and explains how to integrate these specimens as backgrounds to make lower showstoppers really pop.

Closing Keynote and Session Speaker Teresa Woodard

Teresa brings a background in magazine writing and gardening experience. She is author of Garden to the Max: Joyful, Visionary, Maximalist Design (Timber Press, 2025) and co-author of American Roots: Lessons and Inspiration from Designers Reimagining Our Home Gardens (Timber Press, 2022). During her 16-year writing career, she has written and produced garden content for regional and national publications, including Better Homes & Gardens and Country Gardens, and currently serves as contributing garden editor at Midwest Living magazine and content creator for digital garden media. She has won Gold and Silver Media Awards from GardenComm. Outside of work, she gardens at her home near Columbus, Ohio, volunteers at an urban garden teaching youth about growing food, and advises America in Bloom communities across the country.

Closing Keynote: Garden to the Max

For those of you compelled to make room for 'just one more plant', this talk is for you. In Teresa’s newest book Garden to the Max, she dives into the maximalist style as it boldly unfolds in the garden. She will showcase 20 maximalist gardens with gorgeous images by photographer Bob Stefko. She'll share how talented garden creatives curate plant collections, defy rules, build drama with multiples of plants, or max out all-sized spaces to support nature. Her wish is for gardeners to find great joy in designing highly personalized jam-packed patios, exuberant tropical paradises, wildly diverse habitats for birds and butterflies, and stylized plant collections. Besides, the Earth and all its wildlife will thank you.

Session Topic: American Roots

Follow a journey across the US and take a closer look at gardens that Teresa showcased in her quest to celebrate the American garden in her recent book American Roots. You will explore a selection of gardens designed by 20 creative gardeners including two Ohioans and others across our vast land from Big Sur, California, to the shores of Rhode Island. Gain inspiration, planting tips, and an expanded notion of what an American garden is.

Session Speaker Rebecca Haynes

Rebecca Haynes is the Vice President and Executive Director of Audubon South Carolina, a state office of National Audubon Society. She has more than 20 years of experience working in conservation in South Carolina, including as a public servant on state watershed management and at American Rivers working on hydropower and water supply issues.

Rebecca most recently served as Government Relations Director and then Deputy Director for Conservation Voters of South Carolina for ten years. In addition to helping double the size of the organization and tripling its operating budget during her tenure, Rebecca was pivotal in the development and success of the South Carolina Conservation Coalition.

She holds an AB in Political Science, a certificate in Environmental Ethics, and an MS in Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development from UGA. When not at work, you can find Rebecca volunteering and mentoring in her community. She loves spending time with her husband and son (and pets) at their home in Columbia.

Session Topic: Birds, Native Plants, and More: Audubon South Carolina

Join Rebecca for a conversation about the work of the National Audubon Society in South Carolina. We’ll explore what the birds are telling us, how Audubon is working to make SC better for birds and people, and how you can help bend the bird curve of species decline with native plants and more.

Session Speaker Annie Martin

A Western North Carolina native and nationally recognized expert on creating moss landscapes, Annie Martin, known as Mossin’ Annie, infuses her passion for mosses with her knowledge of bryophytes and successful gardening techniques. Wearing many hats, Mossin’ Annie is a moss rescuer, small business owner, researcher, landscape contractor, garden speaker, and published author of The Magical World of Moss Gardening (Timber Press, 2015; Japanese translation, 2017).

As owner of Mountain Moss Enterprises, Inc. and a licensed NC Landscape Contractor, she offers consultation services, lectures/workshops, and turnkey installations emphasizing the year-round green appeal of eco-friendly mosses. Mossin’ Annie rescues mosses from places where they will be destroyed. At her Mossery in Brevard, NC, Martin cultivates shade, sun, and versatile moss species for DIY moss gardeners and professional landscapers. She advocates benefits of native mosses as intentional horticultural choices. In her own words, she was “Born to be a moss artist and to create innovative designs and sustainable landscapes, resulting in serene retreats that lift your spirit.”

Session Topic: Creating Moss Landscapes and the Significant Roles Mosses Play in a Healthy Ecosystem It’s all about moss magic! Join Mossin’ Annie, as she provides inspiration and valuable guidance for creating inviting moss landscapes. Her program features impressive photographs that emphasize the joys and environmental benefits of mosses (bryophytes).

Often overlooked as an intentional horticultural native plant choice, there are moss species that thrive in shady areas where nothing else will grow; yet, there are others that tolerate sun exposures. She will offer an overview of the unique botanical features of these miniature plants, cover appropriate choices of moss species, and recommend planting methods and maintenance. Mosses provide year-round green appeal, even in cold winter months.

Session Speaker Abigail Taylor

Abigail got her degree in horticulture from Clemson University in 2025. During her senior year she served as the Clemson Horticulture Club President, facilitating horticulture education with her peers. She also pursued a minor in sustainability and enjoys learning new sustainable horticultural practices.

Session Topic: Lasagna Gardening

This gardening practice is a non-traditional, no-dig way to create garden beds. Layering green and brown organic material will yield a high-quality planting medium while reducing costs for garden soil that is typically purchased to establish a bed.