David Deardorff, botanist and expert plant pathologist, loves to write and lecture about how to grow healthier plants. As a research biologist David has lived and gardened in many environments, from the desert southwest to the maritime northwest to the tropics. Currently, he and co-author Kathryn Wadsworth can be found presenting workshops around the U.S. on a wide variety of topics, from ecology to gardening.

David earned his Ph.D. in botany from the University of Washington. He coordinated plant pathology research at the University of Hawaii and served as faculty advisor to the Master Gardener Program at Washington State University. He also co-founded Plants of the Southwest in Santa Fe, one of the first native plant nurseries in the country. He has served as Research Director at Island Biotropix, an orchid nursery and tissue culture laboratory which he co-owned with partner and co-author Kathryn Wadsworth.

You may also be interested in the author's own Web site, www.DDandKW.com.