A History Rich in Variety and Creativity - Alan and Ellen Shapiro

In this episode, we stroll down memory lane with Alan Shapiro, who in the 1980’s, established one of the most plant diverse nurseries in the southeastern U.S, known initially as San Felasco Nurseries and then as Grandiflora. His journey includes growing up in Miami Beach, attending college at Michigan State, living on a kibbutz in Israel, and returning to Gainesville where he began his career in horticulture. Alan also served as FNGLA president in 1996-97 and was awarded the prestigious Wendell E. Butler Award in 2000. This episode, like Alan's story, is rich in variety and creativity.

As the nation's largest state nursery and landscape association, FNGLA represents Florida's nursery and landscape industry which generated $31.4 billion total output sales in 2020 and directly employed 266,000+ people. The Plant People Podcast highlights the valuable stories of our industry's contributors and influencers. Produced by UF/AEC's Orange and New Creative Lab.