Tracy DiSabato-Aust writes and lectures on gardening, especially perennial gardening.  Her most recent book is The Well-Designed Mixed Garden follows The Well-Tended Perennial Garden.  She has provided many contributions to Fine Gardening, Gardens Illustrated, Horticulture, Garden Design, Garden Gate and Real Simple.  Her speaking engagements include international garden organizations, such as at Kew, Oxford, and Wisley, national association meetings such as the Perennial Plant Association, and numerous programs at botanical gardens and the Smithsonian Institute.  She also makes frequent national television and radio appearances.

Fondly known as the 'Perennial Diva', Stephanie Cohen has taught herbaceous plant identification and perennial design at Temple University for more than 20 years.  She’s received awards for design from the Perennial Plant Association and has written The Perennial Gardener’s Design Primer.  She lends her expertise to Fine Gardening and other professional journals and frequently lectures and appears on television.

Tom Goforth, nurseryman and lecturer, owns Crow Dog Native Ferns and Gardens in northwest South Carolina.  With a BS in Geology and a MFA in Sculpture, he continues to research fern ecology, geology, and plant communities, while creating artistic landscapes and sharing stories.   

After studying horticulture at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina, John Hoffman began using ornamental grasses in designs for golf courses and private residences.  In 1986 John and his wife, Jill, established Hoffman Nursery, Inc. in rural Durham County.  As a full-time nurseryman, he supplies over 150 varieties of grasses and grass-like plants to the wholesale trade.

Mary Stauble is an environmental educator and consultant living in Charlotte, NC.  With degrees in biology, environmental science, and education, she continues teaching science in conjunction with her job as an Urban Conservationist Technician.  She not only has developed her own certified habitat garden, which was featured in Carolina Gardener Magazine, she also has assisted schools in the development of wildlife habitats.