Cheryl Ann Photography

An avid horticulturist and gardener, Cheryl Ann Meola gained invaluable experience in the eighteen years she worked within the plant nursery industry. Her career began with Cornelius nursery in Houston, Texas where she took classes to become a Texas Certified Nursery Professional. Upon completion of the courses she was promoted to bedding plant supervisor. Ms. Meola had an interest in tropical plants and moved to Florida to further her education. In 1989, she received her Associate in Arts degree in Landscape Architecture from Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC). While studying for her degree, she attended junior level courses with the University of Florida’s Research and Educational Center in Fort Lauderdale. During this time, she worked for five years at MDCC in their Landscape Technology Nursery, a teaching nursery. While at the nursery, she supervised Nursery Practices II students, and she gave tours of the nursery to visiting elementary school children. During her stay at the nursery, Ms. Meola rewrote the plant and animal section of the school children’s tour, giving an overview of plant evolution. While at the nursery, she photographed the plants, and her plant photography was later used as an instructional tool for Plant Identification students. The photo guide of native and tropical flora inspired the idea to write Southeast Style Gardening. Starting in 1997, she worked for Wolf Camera where she won their 1997 District Printoff and 1999 Store Printoff Awards. In 2006, she became an estate gardener at Deeridge Farms, and was responsible for growing organic vegetables, herbs, tropical fruits, ornamentals, tropicals, and orchids. The ornamentals, tropicals, and orchids were utilized in the landscape, and the fresh edibles were enjoyed by the owners. She enjoyed all the praise!