FANN appoints Kirsten Sharp-Ortega of Green Isle Gardens Nursery to Board of Directors

Kirsten Sharp-Ortega, Green Isle Gardens Nursery

On Saturday, January 27, 2018, the FANN Board of Directors appointed world traveler Kirsten-Sharp Ortega as director at large, representing a nursery seat. Kirsten is a habitat designer at Green Isle Gardens Nursery in Groveland, Lake County. She provided this personal statement to share with FANN members and fans.

“I acquired my passion for all things growing at an early age, helping my parents tending their gardens. My appreciation of this grew with living in many countries including South Africa, England, Germany, the Caribbean and the United States. It enabled me to have a global knowledge of the different climates and plants growing in different places. I also believe that this unique knowledge can be put to good use in my chosen profession.

“My work experiences are varied: office work to real estate sales, to designing and planting of gardens which suite the climate and soil conditions in the countries that I have lived in. A combination of all this has helped provided me with a unique ability to communicate to clients how to make the most of what they have to work with.

“I am now working at Green Isle Gardens Nursery as their Habitat Designer. I create custom designs for client who are looking to attract more birds, bees and pollinators into the yard, as well as reducing the use of water and chemicals in their yards.

“I recently completed my Horticulture degree at Valencia College with a specialization in Landscape Design. This degree has enabled me to fulfill my passion of creating landscapes for clients, with the focus on sustainability by adding plants that are native to the area that you live in. This encourages pollinators into the garden and will help add more biodiversity to your landscape.

“We are living in a world that is changing daily, we hear of climate changes and global warming and water shortages. It is time to take an active part in preserving what we have, if we learn to plant sustainably, by using methods that work in your specific zone and by planting things that are native, instead of exotics, we can and will make a difference.”