topics to floral design and flower farming . It was a natural segue .

“ Diversifying is the secret sauce that helps anyone succeed . We see it with food growing / preserving , with tourism / travel , with family / parenting topics and other themes with an affinity to gardening ,” Debra said . “ If you can layer related topic expertise over garden writing and connect with like-minded peers , it greatly enhances the garden writing journey .”

Debra served as GWA president from 2011 to 2013 , and emphasized the importance of professional communications skills . “ I wanted to support our members ’ growth and development skills in communications ,” she said . “ If you follow the logic that good writing skills equip one to write about anything , as long as one knows how to research and report , then you may agree with my point of view .”

PHOTOGRAPHY

ROB CARDILLO

© PHOTO PAM PENICK

MEMBERSHIP CONNECTIONS Her biggest takeaway from GWA is the idea that the writing profession is all about relationships . It was through GWA that she met Paul Kelly and Catherine Dees of St . Lynn ’ s Press , who published The 50 Mile Bouquet and Slow Flowers . It was how she met James Baggett , editor of Country Gardens , and others who were open to her flower farm story pitches . She connected with people she wanted to interview , people who invited her to speak at their flower shows and botanic gardens , as well as those who interviewed … her as an expert . “ It ’ s all interrelated ,” she said . “ Ideas are a dime a dozen . It ’ s putting those ideas in motion that makes them truly valuable .”

“ Debra worked with selfless determination to bring GWA into a new age of mass media communications ,” said Kirk R . Brown , president of GWA . “ Her leadership set the organization onto a course of accountability of our management and for our fiscal responsibility , leadership within the green industry and the highest return on investment to our membership . Without her foresight and strength , nothing of where we are today as a non-profit organization could have been possible . I count her as one of my oldest and truest friends in the world of ornamental horticulture .”

Jean Starr has been growing plants for 30 years , writing about them for 26 . Her work has appeared in magazines and newspapers , as online web content , and as gardening presenter and radio host . Jean ’ s plant repertoire now includes hundreds of genera in both indoor and outdoor settings . She also blogs at petaltalk-jean . com .

Rosie stands sentry as Rob Cardillo disposes of memorable slides .

It ’ s New Year ’ s Day and while half-watching the Mummers Parade down Philadelphia ’ s Broad Street , I ’ m tossing out 20-year-old slides . The time has come to downsize my rarely opened filing cabinets of film to make room for something else .

My slide collection served me well . When work was spotty the first few years of freelancing , I would spend days shooting the plant world at nearby gardens and arboreta , building an archive along with my own botanical knowledge . I bought 20-roll “ bricks ” of Velvia and Ektachrome vs , the favored emulsions of garden photographer for their richly saturated and fine-grained beauty . They lived in the refrigerator until the night before a photo shoot ; afterwards they were processed at a nearby professional lab where the owner ’ s mother would deliver boxes of plastic-mounted slides the next day . Editing was done on a big bright lightbox with a powerful loupe . Was the image sharp ? s Did I nail the exposure ? Did I balance the ever-changing color temperatures correctly ?

TEDIOUS ORGANIZATION I would edit each angle down to the best four or five frames and then enter the botanical name and other data into a funky PC program to build a catalog . Tiny peel and stick labels were generated on a dot matrix printer and attached carefully to the slide frames before they were filed by genus and location . It was

tedious , eye-straining work .

But to earn their keep , the images needed to be seen by publishers . So , for book and magazine want lists , I hand pulled and shipped my precious babies off to the harsh world of careless editors and ham-handed printers , hoping for a sale and their safe return . And then the endless hours of refiling .

Once the digital world came up to speed , my slide collection became unprofitable . I moved cautiously at first , like my clients . Some still wanted film , some wanted electronic files and a few wanted both . But the digital world won out for its ease , cost and speed .

ADIEU OLD TIMES So it ’ s time to say goodbye to these tiny magic frames . But the recollections are rich as my eyes scan each slide page . Here was the image where I finally finessed a new lighting technique or was in the warm company of a generous gardener who opened up their paradise for me . I recalled hot afternoons , impending rainstorms and first conversations with folks who later became dear friends .

And while others are watching the bowl games , I toss memories into trash bags , aching with guilt for not finding a creative way to recycle these polystyrene frames and acetate chips that were once a vibrant world to me . Should auld acquaintance be forgot ?

Rob Cardillo is an award-winning photographer and a member of GWA ’ s Hall of Fame .

© PHOTO COURTESY ROB CARDILLO

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