Meet the Owners and Staff of Native Nurseries

Jody's mom, Sue Walthall, died on August 14, 2011. Without Sue there would not be a Native Nurseries. Approached by several potential buyers over the years for the land the nursery sits on today, she always said, 'No . . . my son might have a use for it someday'. Sue attended Florida State College for Women, but left to marry her sweetheart, Jack Walthall, in 1947. When Jack became ill with Parkinson's disease at a young age, she enrolled in the cosmetology program at Lively Technical Center and began a career as a hair stylist at Suburban Salon, where she worked for over 30 years. Sue was an enthusiastic (often loud) Seminole fan. She volunteered at her church, at Kate Sullivan School as a mentor to first graders and delivered Meals on Wheels to senior citizens. We’re going to miss her.

Liz Marshall started working at Native Nurseries in 1987 after completing the Horticulture Program at Lively Tech. She is the annual/perennial buyer and
co-manager of the Wren’s Nest Gift Shop and a member of the retail staff. She also custom designs/plants containers for our customers. Liz has a large circle of friends and family, and spends as much time with them as possible . . .

. . . preferably at the beach. ☺

Norma Skaggs started working at Native Nurseries in January, 1990, after completing the Horticulture Program at Lively Tech. She is the herb and wildflower buyer, the book/CD/DVD buyer and (along with Lilly) teaches the Cooking with Winter Herbs workshop here at the nursery. She is also a member of the retail staff. Norma mentors a student at Kate Sullivan Elementary, volunteers for the Friends of Wakulla Springs State Park and serves on the board of the Tallahassee Community Friends of Old Time Dance. She enjoys swimming in her sinkhole, gardening and dancing. Norma clogs with ‘The Pepper Steppers’.

Grace Miller started working at Native Nurseries in 1988. She orders the jewelry and hats, helps out in the office and is a member of the retail staff. Grace is partially retired now. She works only a few hours a day, a couple days a week. There’s not much she doesn’t know about gardening, so if she’s in when you have questions, consider yourself lucky. ☺

Brian Bryson started working at Native Nurseries in 1991. He is a talented landscape artist, and most of the drawings in our newsletter are his. He also painted the mural in the Children’s Nature Nook and the various signs in the store. The cardinal on our new street sign is a reproduction of Brian’s artwork. Brian also designs and installs water features. Check out some of the ponds he’s installed for our customers and the Creating Water Features workshop he teaches each summer.
Brian enjoys making blackberry jam and sailing
and (like Jody) built his own sailboat.

Mary McMullen started working at Native Nurseries
in January of 2000 after completing the
Horticulture Program at Lively Tech. She orders the organic gardening products for the nursery,
helps out with the office work, runs all the
digital marketing/desktop publishing programs and
is a member of the retail staff. When she isn’t working, Mary loves to cook, garden, read and write.

Timothy Roop started working at Native Nurseries
in February of 2004. He is an ISA Certified Arborist, the foreman of our landscape crew and an all-round handy guy . . . a very handy guy! When he’s not out on a landscape job, Timothy is a member of the retail staff. And when he isn’t working, he’s climbing trees, smoking beans, roasting hot peppers and concocting hot sauce.

Lilly Anderson-Messec started working at Native Nurseries in 2006. She is a passionate vegetable gardener, our expert on starting vegetables and herbs from seed and a Certified Horticultural Professional.
She orders the garden seed, bulbs and the pots and is co-manager of the Wren’s Nest Gift Shop. Lilly teaches the Container, Seed Starter and Totally Tomatoes workshops and (along with Norma) the Cooking with Winter Herbs workshop. She is also a member of the retail staff. Lilly mentors a student at Kate Sullivan Elementary and is a talented knitter.

Seth Dunaway started working at Native Nurseries
in January 2008. He is part of the landscape crew during the week and the retail staff on Saturday. Seth is one of the most easy-going, pleasant guys we know; and we all enjoy working with him,
but we know he’d rather be surfing. ☺

Jimmy Gunderson started working at Native Nurseries
in 2008. He is part of the landscape crew,
a member of the retail staff
and very good at anything related to building.

Vanessa Walthall started working at Native Nurseries
in January of 2010 after graduating from UF and spending a year in Bemidji, MN, working for Minnesota Conservation Corps. She is the tree and shrub buyer for the nursery and a member of the retail staff.
Vanessa is raising chickens for their eggs and built a chicken tractor which she can move around the property (allowing the chickens to help with weed control and fertilization all at once). With her dad’s (Jody’s) help, she is currently building her own sailboat.

Her new puppy, Shadow, is a big hit with our customers. ☺

Joseph Walthall worked part-time
at Native Nurseries while attending FSU
and moved to full time upon graduation
in June 2010. He is the buyer for our wild bird shop and a member of the retail staff. Joseph is a very talented chef (we all wish he’d bring samples to work with him☺) and an assistant coach
of the FSU rugby club team.

Anna Morrow (who previously worked for us while going to school at FSU) recently came back part time. We're thrilled to have her back for as long as she's willing to stay with us. Anna loves to travel
and performs with Adam Reid’s band.

Adam Russell is one of our part-time employees. He bags and stocks the bird seed, makes suet and potting soil, carries customer’s purchases to their vehicles and dozens of other tasks. He’ll be graduating from Leon High this year where he’s active in the performing arts.

Karl Berlin is one of our part-time employees. He bags and stocks the bird seed, makes suet and potting soil, carries customer’s purchases to their vehicles and dozens of other tasks. He’ll be graduating from Lincoln High this year. He likes camping and other outdoor activities, music and photography.

Adam Ritchie is one of our part-time employees. He bags and stocks the bird seed, makes suet and potting soil, carries customer’s purchases to their vehicles and dozens of other tasks. He’ll be graduating from Lincoln High this year, and in his spare time he enjoys running and playing football and other sports with his friends.

12/6/1998 – 9/6/2011

For more than twelve years,
Pansy was the perfect shop dog
with the sweetest personality.
We miss her.