Green Dynamix Spring / Summer 2023 Newsletter

INSIDER ACCESS
SPRING / SUMMER 2023
Somewhere
between living
and dreaming,
there’s Sedona
What’s Inside?
• Sedona Greetings
• A Unique Hob-bee
• Meet the Team
• Highlighting
Florida Friendly
Landscapes
See Page 6
Would you
Review us?
See Page 8

Greetings!
Somewhere
between living
and dreaming,
there’s Sedona
Being a desert
town in Arizona,
you might
be surprised to
learn the history
of Sedona is deeply rooted in agriculture, and
mystery! I had the opportunity to travel there in
March and the trip was nothing short of awe inspiring.
I hope you enjoy these photos of my
time there and this short synopsis of the history.
It’s an amazing place!
Only 15 to 20 inches of rain fall every year
in Sedona and yet, the
Native Americans that
called it home, and the
American settlers who
eventually came to homestead
there, found ways
to grow thriving crops.
The Sinagua tribe of Native
Americans came on
the scene shortly after
650 A.D. and grew corn,
squash, and beans. They
traded woven cotton and
red clay pottery with other
tribes
I had
the pleasure of
taking my first trip
to Sedona with both
my son, Michael, and
my brother, Calvin.
My son loved the trip
so much, he wanted
to go back again for
his birthday this year.
Nothing compares
to making memories
with your kids, so we
went back! The two
photos pictured left
are from that 2nd
adventure.
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as far away as Mexico and the Pacific Coast.
As their civilization grew, they built incredible
adobe structures in the red rock landscapes of
the Verde Valley, some large enough to house
hundreds of people. You can still visit some of
these sites today.
About 100 years before the Spanish
passed through the valley in 1583, the Sinagua
disappeared from the Sedona area at
what was seemingly the height of their civilization.
The reason they left and where they

went is a historical mystery, known in the Southwest as The Great Abandonment.
Some believe the Sinagua holy men foresaw the coming of the white
man and chose to leave. Others believe they migrated north to the Hopi Mesas.
There are different theories with no concrete evidence to definitively tell us what
happened to the Sinagua, but the mark they left on the landscape adds to the
beauty and mystery that draws people in.
In the very late 1800’s, about fifteen homesteading families came to settle
in Sedona and were able to use the water from Oak Creek to irrigate their crops,
as did the Native Americans before them. As these early farmers learned to channel
the water, this desert place became known for its fruiting orchards – especially
apples and peaches
– which were significant to the economy
at the time. The fruit grown in Sedona
became so popular, people would come
from neighboring cities just to buy it. By
the late 1970’s and 1980’s, the robust
commercial orcharding stopped and the
amazing Sedona scenery gave way to
a new era in moviemaking. Westerns
were all the rage in American culture
and Sedona
became the backdrop for
nearly 100 feature films over
the years, including John
Wayne’s Angel and the
Badman.
Today, the town is
known for its art community,
breathtaking canyons,
and red rock landscapes.
Some of the descendants
of the original settling families still reside
there today. Stepping into Sedona
is a surreal experience. It’s a place
where you can touch the mystery, but
you can’t uncover it.
3

TEAM HIGHLIGHT:
A Unique Hob-bee
4
ur Senior
OAccount
Executive, Abby Brooks, is
deeply passionate about horticulture
and the Green Industry. We
recently learned she extends that
passion to the vital pollinators
that make our industry possible.
When she was 19 years old,
Abby and her father took a class
on beekeeping, a common
intrigue they shared. The class eventually
led to a family hobby of beekeeping and last
year, Abby and her husband began the venture of
starting their own hive in their backyard in Savannah,
Georgia.
While she was in horticulture school, she
had her first opportunity to fully suit up and get
hands-on with a beehive during her summer internship.
This could pose as a daunting challenge
for some, but Abby’s fascination with these amazing
pollinators allowed her to handle the
hive without getting stung.
“It’s almost a meditative state. You
have to control your breathing. They can
sense if you’re afraid or anxious. They’re
just trying to protect their hive and they’ll
only sting if they feel you’re a threat,” Abby
explained. Beekeepers check on their hives
for more than honey collection. They make
sure the hive is healthy and thriving, look
for any pests that could harm them, make
sure the bees are drawing out new combs,
that they’re having new babies and ensure
there is adequate space to continue growing.
Plenty of space is crucial to a happy hive,
“It’s
almost a
meditative state.
You have to control
your breathing. They
can sense if you’re
afraid or anxious.”
- ABBY BROOKS
as Abby and her husband witnessed firsthand. Bees go through a natural
phenomenon known as “swarming” in springtime. If the hive gets too
large and not enough of the pheromone is distributed to all the worker
bees, they think it’s time to make a new queen. The swarming pro-

cess begins when there are too
many queens in one hive. In beekeeping,
it’s possible to lose half
or even all your hive as they attempt
to separate themselves,
each with their own queen.
Luckily for Abby’s hive, she
and her husband caught the
swarming right
as it was taking
place. They got a new box, gave
them more room and were able to save
their “little pets”. “They’re amazing creatures. They
establish their own flight paths and can fly up to 3
miles from the hive. It’s really become a family affair.
Our two boys are fascinated by them now and want
to be more hands-on helpers. Someday, we’ll get
them their own beekeeping suits,” Abby said. There
are many different breeds of honeybees, and Abby’s
are a very docile and productive breed called Buckfast
Bees.
For anyone interested in learning more about
beekeeping, Abby said “You can find a lot
of great information online and
in books. I also recommend
visiting places that sell bees
in your local area.” So far,
Abby’s collected honey from
her hive 3 times and used it
as small gifts for friends and
family. For her, beekeeping is a
very worthwhile and meaningful
hobby that brings her love
of horticulture full circle. In the
Green Industry, including plants
for the bees and other pollinators
that make it all happen is a shared
importance we love to help with.
Reach out to your Account Executive
for any pollinator plants you
may be interested in adding to your
next order!
5

HIGHLIGHTING
FLORIDA FRIENDLY
LANDSCAPES
Above: Flip My Florida Yard producer and
host, Chad Crawford, interviewing our
company president, Gabriel Curry during
the show filming.
At the beginning of May,
we had the opportunity
to work with Owner/Designer
Nicholas Freeman, of Wacca
Pilatka, providing the plant and
tree material for an episode of
Flip My Florida Yard that is set to air in October
of this year. This television series
is from Emmy Award-winning director,
Chad Crawford, and is dedicated to increasing
awareness about environmentally friendly
landscaping in Florida, improving people’s
lives through yard flips, and saving Florida’s
water.
Our company President, Gabriel Curry,
and Account Executive, June Durbin, had the
pleasure of being part of the film production,
which focuses on turning
homeowners’ residential
yards into Florida
friendly landscaping
Left: Nicholas Freeman, landscape
designer and owner of Wacca
Pilatka and our Account Executive,
June Durbin.
dream oases – all in one
installation day. The series
is filmed throughout
the state of Florida and
for this episode, the flip
took place at a Jacksonville,
FL neighborhood home. Nicholas with
Wacca Pilatka was the landscape designer and has been a
long-time customer of Green Dynamix. Their company mission is to create
native and Florida friendly landscapes that go above and beyond their customers’
dreams. We are grateful to have had the chance to help make this Florida yard flip
a reality and join in the excitement of the film production! We hope you enjoy these
sneak peaks our team captured from behind the scenes!
Episodes of Flip My Florida Yard are available on Roku
streaming devices on the “Discover Florida” channel and
on the show’s YouTube channel. You can find out more
by visiting their website here: https://www.flipmyfloridayard.com/.
To view episodes on YouTube:
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https://www.youtube.com/c/FlipMyFloridaYard.

MEET THE TEAM
AMBERAY NOVAK
Purchaser
A
mberay Novak joined our team in January
of this year and works in our purchasing
department, ensuring orders are accurately
processed and accounted for. She is originally
from Macclenny, FL and now lives in Lake City,
FL with her family. When she’s not in the office,
Amberay and her husband love to spend time
on their boat on the river and attend concerts
together.
Delivery Driver
Joey Raulerson
Joey came on board as part of our
dedicated Fleet Team February 1st of this
year. He has been a Class A CDL driver since
2001, and before joining our team, he was
primarily an over the road driver. In addition
to driving, Joey also has a mechanical and
handyman background, and helps with the
upkeep of
our trucks
and nursery
when he’s
not making deliveries. He is a native of Lake City,
FL and he and his wife of 28 years have a son and
daughter.
Daisy Nickelson
Staff Accountant
Daisy Nickelson joined the Green Dynamix
team as our Staff Accountant in January
of 2023 and assists with the functions of our
accounting and administrative departments,
including accounts payables, bookkeeping, and
more. Daisy is a native of the Lake City, FL area and comes to us from a strong
background in banking, finance and lending. With her passion for customer
service, detail-oriented mindset, and positive energy, she is a wonderful addition
to our accounting team. Her favorite Core Value is Continually Improving
because she enjoys challenging herself in every aspect of both her career
and life. When she’s not crunching numbers in the office, she loves to spend 7
time with her two sons, workout at the gym and play piano.

FEATURED PLANT:
Purple Coneflower
(Echinacea purpurea)
A
beautiful herbaceous perennial,
Purple Coneflower is often
referred to as simply Echinacea,
taken from Greek word meaning
“spiny one”. The plant has a long
history of use in traditional and
folk medicine for the treatment
of many ailments, including cold
symptoms and even snake bites. In
the realm of modern landscaping,
Purple Coneflower is an easy to
care for aesthetic choice in design.
These plants are a common native
in the central and southeastern
United States, growing in moist,
but well-drained, soil conditions in
meadows, prairies, and open wooded
areas. In Florida, Echinacea is listed
as an endangered native species,
only found
growing wildly in a very specific habitat in Jackson and Gadsden
County. Echinacea is hardy in USDA Zones 4 through 9, however there are
some cultivars that can tolerate the heat of Zone 10 as well. The growth habit is
upright and clumping, typically growing about 3 feet tall, with a spread
of 2 feet. They prefer 6 to 8 hours of sun per day, but in the warmer
regions of the southeast, some afternoon shade will help to keep
the flowers from fading. The unique, stunning flowers generally
bloom at the end of spring through the summer season. Green
Dynamix has Echinacea available today in 1 gallon
containers, contact your account executive to
add some to your next order!
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