Suzette Lyon explains her love for nature this way: Though I don’t know how it started, I have been interested in plants since I was a young child. My journey from a garden of beauty, but not necessarily of purpose, to grasping the importance of local ecotype plants has been long and slow. After 46 years working indoors as a Medical Technologist, I am retired now and enjoy spending much more time outdoors. I am continuing to reduce lawn space in my yard, making more room for native plants. While I don’t have a favorite plant, the one I hate most is English ivy. The plants I enjoy most are those native species that allow us to observe and learn how insects and other wildlife use them for sustenance. That’s what really matters.