Wenatchee World “In the Garden” Authors

Bonnie Orr

Bonnie was in the original WSU Chelan County Master Gardener class in 1996. Before she was a Master Gardener, she earned the title of Master Composter Class in 1992. She grows unusual veggies from seeds she buys in unusual places. She likes blue flowers and she maintains geriatric houseplants.

Casey Leigh

Casey moved from Hawaii to the Wenatchee area in 2013, a few years after
retiring from teaching law. One of the first things she did was apply for the Master
Gardener class after meeting Terry Anderson in the Xeric Garden. She was hooked on Plant Diagnosis after her first day as an intern and still loves the education she gets when working with other clinicians to solve problems. She enjoys applying all she has learned from the Program to her own yard.

Lloyd Thompson

Lloyd retired after 33 years as an Agriculture teacher and FFA advisor, the last 24 at Eastmont high school. He ran the school orchard, greenhouse and floral shop while at Eastmont. He taught horticulture, floral design, ag science, biology. Currently he is busy writing master gardener articles for the Wenatchee World, plant clinic, and helping with the Japanese garden.

Mary Fran McClure

Some garden interests include container gardening, small fruits, landscape design, hardscapes, pollinators, annuals and perennials. She is experienced in Publisher, Photoshop and photography. She is also a Wenatchee World columnist and gives talks and quilts.

Connie Mehmel

Connie has been a WSU Master Gardener since 2010. She is superintendent of the Boswell Building at the Chelan County Fair, where flowers, fruits and vegetables are displayed. Her favorite activities are hiking, biking, and tending her home vegetable garden. She is a former forest entomologist with the US Forest Service. She retired in 2019 after a 42-year career.