Ann Amato lives in Portland, OR and is a horticulturist and propagator at Cistus Nursery and Secret Garden Growers. At 18, she published Ancient Forests and Western Man: A Pictorial History of the West Coast. She earned a BA from PSU with a double major in English literature and art history. She is a garden blogger (www.amateurbotannist.com) and recipient of an Oregon Nurseries Foundation Scholarship. She is the President of the Mt Hood Gesneriad Society, a chapter of The Gesneriad Society. When not working, she tends to 500+ houseplants and her urban garden named Campiello Maurizio: the Garden of One-of-Each-ee.