Gail Barton has been teaching Horticulture at Meridian Community College for over 20 years. She has spoken to many regional and state native plant conferences and owned a retail mail order nursery (Flowerplace Plant Farm). She is a gardening columnist, former editor of Garden Paths Newsletter and author of a gardening book – Basic Gardening: A Guide For the Deep South. She has been honored as an outstanding teacher receiving the MCC Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award, NISOD Excellence in Teaching Medallion and was honored by the Mississippi Legislature as a HEADWAE Outstanding Teacher. She received the Native Plant Society of Texas’ Lynn Lowery Award for Achievement in Horticulture for her efforts in discovering and propagating Forest Frost phlox. In her spare time, she maintains a web site at www.gailbarton.com. Gail and her husband Richard Lowery live on 6 acres of land in Meridian, Mississippi and enjoy exploring it with their five dogs.