Tricia Avey

She/Her
Owner

Tricia’s love for horticulture began when she took on an abandoned garden in South Philadelphia.  She found the freedom to design and plant inspiring and endlessly enjoyable. She appreciates how gardens are continually in flux and are not meant to be controlled, but cultivated.

Her experience with gardens has given her a deep understanding of plants and their cultural conditions and preferences. Tricia enjoys using her creativity and design skills as well as her expertise as a plant amnesty master pruner to give gardens new life. Currently she is inspired to grow and build the number native plant communities in our urban environment. Right now is the time to act in response to our changing environment.

In her free time, Tricia can be found dilly dallying around her own garden, tossing native seeds into neglected lots and identifying birds without anyone asking.

Tricia loves sharing her horticultural knowledge and is excited to meet with you about your garden goals and how we can help you achieve them.

Alanna

She/They
Horticulturist & Manager

Alanna is thrilled to offer a service that combines her love for Nature and the Arts. They hold a BA in Design Studies and a minor in Horticultural Sciences from North Carolina State University. After almost 6 years in the landscaping industry, they understand that expert garden care is grounded in an understanding of local ecology, and that native plants deserve a home in all of our gardens.

At Fernweh, Alanna primarily cares for your gardens and enjoys any opportunity to help the team design new plantings. She wants to inspire homeowners to see urban spaces as more than a playground to manipulate and control, but a living ecosystem with a story and place in our collective healing. Alanna has completed the Plant Amnesty Master Pruner Program. She is a proud member of the Washington Native Plant Society, as well as a member of City Fruit. They have also completed a Dirt Corps Training Program and RainWise Contractor Certification.

In her free time, Alanna can be found snuggling her cats, dog and chickens, learning about local natural history, or watching Pee Wee’s Big Adventure on repeat.

Quinn

They/She
Gardener

Quinn graduated from UW in 2023 with degrees in Environmental Science and Journalism. Their interest and professional background is in watershed ecology, especially related to groundwater management and preservation. Prior to Fernweh, Quinn worked as wetland permitting scientist and municipal water maintenance worker. They believe that improving the urban environment's ability to hold water is key to a climate resilient future. 

At Fernweh Gardens, Quinn is passionate about planting and maintaining vibrant native gardens that can thrive with reduced water input, withstand climate fluctuations, and improve water percolation. They love and prioritize  getting into the details of each garden, and would love to talk with you about  native aquatic and riparian plants, hydrozoning, and rainwater catchment systems!  

On off hours, you'll find Quinn solo camping, working on writing and visual art projects, engaging in vipassana meditation, and learning about PNW medicinal plants. As a PNW native, they feel humbled to devote their professional life to the preservation and restoration of Washington's culturally rich ecological landscape.  

Kayle

She/Her
Gardener & Nursery Staff

Originally from Connecticut, Kayle recently relocated to Seattle and is excited to deepen her knowledge of Washington’s native pollinators and regional ecosystems. She holds a degree in Biology and Sustainability from the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth and has always had a passion for conservation. With six years of experience in gardening, Kayle values how there is always more to learn and explore in the field.

She is especially passionate about native plants and creating pollinator havens that support biodiversity and long-term landscape health. At Fernweh Gardens, Kayle takes on a dual role in gardening and greenhouse production, helping to support both the team and its native plant mission. She is eager to continue expanding her knowledge of native plants and sustainable gardening practices in the Pacific Northwest.

In her free time, Kayle enjoys hiking and seeking out farm-to-table dining experiences that reflect her appreciation for local and sustainable food systems.

Sarah

She/Her

Sarah grew up in Texas and over the years watched as the land she loved went unprotected and became polluted and discarded by various industries. 

She majored in Geography with an emphasis on Sustainability and Environmental Science. This has given her a profound interest in the ways people interact with the land around them. The last five years she’s worked in landscaping and has become passionate about learning how to restore native habitats. She is motivated by Fernweh’s mission to create pollinator havens, preserve ecosystems and preserve the local native plants. You can find her on routine visits developing relationships with your plants and investing in their health. In her free time, she likes to roam around ghost towns, hike with her dog, or make art in various mediums.

Talinna

She/Her
Nursery Manager

Talinna grew up in northern Idaho, where the mountains and river bottoms were her backyard classroom. Some of her earliest plant memories are of the sweet scent of wild ginger, delighting in the sugary blossoms of orange honeysuckle, discovering the delicate fairy-slipper orchid, and listening to the quaking aspens flutter in the breeze. All are still among her favorites, though she refuses to rank them.

As a teenager, she landed a job at a wholesale production nursery and never really looked back. She went on to earn degrees in Greenhouse and Landscape Management/Design, and Agroecology. She has since built expertise across both nursery production and fine gardening. Talinna is thrilled to bring that background to Fernweh Gardens as the Nursery Manager and share her enthusiasm for plants that have evolved in this uniquely rich corner of the PNW.

Talinna is especially passionate about connecting home gardeners with regional native plants — not just as pretty additions to a garden, but as living threads in an ecological and cultural story that stretches back millennia, woven together by wildlife, pollinators, and the many human communities who have tended this land.

In her free time, you can find her experimenting with propagation in her own garden, botanizing whatever corner of the PNW she can get to, running whitewater with her family, and affectionately pestering her cat.