Allergy Free Gardening

Tom Ogren, author, speaker, songwriter, pollen-allergy researcher, creator of OPALS. Loves to read, sing, garden, fish and camp. Spends way too much time on the computer and not nearly enough time out fishing and camping.

Peter Prakke is our man in Hamilton, Canada. Born and educated in Holland, Peter has had a long career in horticulture and agriculture. Among the many interesting facts about him, Peter started the very first dairy operation ever in Kuwait. He is a public speaker, educator, and has a vigorous and long-lasting record of being a powerful advocate for better health for all children. Peter has long been interested in allergy-free gardening, in the rights of those people with allergies, and we are darn lucky to have him as part of our marvelous team. I might add, too, that Peter homebrews a very decent jug of wine.

E-mail Peter

Nigel Clarke', adventurous plant hunter, is our main man in Europe. Nigel (who was born in Ireland) lives on the Isle of Guernsey and owns and runs a large nursery operation, retail plant center, and a thriving landscaping business. He is also deeply interested in allergy-free plants, in reforesting the island, and is now propagating a large number of exciting, never-seen-before, pollen-free cultivars of trees, flowers, and bushes. Guernsey is in the Channel Islands, in between England and France and there Nigel grows some of the finest window boxes and hanging baskets you'll ever see. Also an avid birder, Nigel is quick to smile, very positive, upbeat and always charming. The women here in the USA just adore his Irish accent!

E-mail Nigel

David Bush, Senior health researcher:  David's a fun guy to work with, always in a good mood, always does a first rate job of whatever he does. Highly organized and always thorough, he's now our number one researcher when we need to fact check things or discover brand new information and data on health issues. Very good on computers, I might add, too, that he's becoming an accomplished birder, and he's an excellent chess player...one of the few people I ever play who beats me regularly.

E-mail David

Dr. Vicki Stover, our Chief Academic Liaison;  a former Associate Vice President for Administration at Cal Poly University,  brings integrity, a wealth of top-level business expertise, and lots of common sense and energy to Our Team. A real can-do lady, Vicki is also mighty handy with a power saw, a level and a hammer. She’s new to gardening, but is already hooked on pollen-free plants and we’re delighted to have her on board!

E-Mail Vicki

Rachele Melious is a nursery owner, an Aeroallergen Identification Specialist (Outdoor Air Samples/Pollen Counter), and has degrees in Chemistry and Biochemistry. Rachele has allergies herself and for over a decade now has been deeply interested in allergy-free gardening. She serves on landscape, planning and water-use committees in San Diego County, where she does daily pollen counts for doctors, runs her nursery, and consults on low-allergy and pollen-free landscapes. Rachele is a busy lady and a terrific new addition to Our Team!

E-Mail Rachele

John Hawkes, a key member of Our Team here at AFG was born and educated in England, where he was an engineer for Rolls Royce. An experienced top-level advisor, John has been program manager and developer of numerous large bio-energy and other renewable energy systems around the world. Deeply interested in promoting and implementing low-pollen and pollen-free landscaping, he's also a skier, a singer, musician, and owns and runs Wayside Garden Market and Groundskeeping in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada.

E-Mail John

Brian Spraker is our webmaster, and he's a crackerjack good one, too. The owner of his own web design firm, BsnTech, Brian is THE webmaster we've long been looking for. Quick, smart, organized, responsible, responsive, and totally computer savvy, Brian is always ready with good advice, and he just flat out gets things done. From Decatur, Illinois, Brian is also a gardener, and grows some very impressive carrots. He's quickly learning way more than he ever expected to about pollen and allergies...and please, don't try and steal him from us. We need him on our team.

BsnTech Networks Website