Episode 15 - Maria Zampini 4th generation nurseryman and owner of UpShoot LLC
Maria is a 4th generation nurseryman and proud of it! After graduating from Penn State with a BS in Horticulture, she ran the family’s 1000-acre wholesale nursery, destination attraction garden center, and new plant research and development division. She took a new path in 2009 partnering with her father to form UpShoot LLC, a boutique horticultural marketing firm focusing on sales, marketing, and licensing of new plant introductions and gardening-related products. In 2019 Maria partnered with Spring Meadow Nursery to develop the Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Trees program.
Maria is a freelance writer for both green industry trade journals and consumer gardening magazines. In 2015 she released her first book with co-author Pam Bennett titled Garden-Pedia: An A-Z Guide to Gardening Terms. This ASHS award-winning book is going into its second printing. Additionally, she has spoken nationally and internationally on a variety of gardening-related topics.
Maria has pushed the glass greenhouse ceiling becoming the 1stfemale President of the Ohio Nursery & Landscape Association and International Ornamental Crabapple Society. She serves as the Vice-President of GardenComm: Garden Communicator’s International. She is also on the ONLA Legislative Committee. Locally she is on the Salvation Army Advisory Board in Painesville, Ohio.