Our Team
Kim and Joey Bokor
Owners
Read about Kim, Joey, Abby, Maddy, and the Kerby’s Nursery legacy here: Our Story.
Stephanie
Assistant Manager
Stephanie enjoys the transformation that comes with gardening – “everyday it gives you a little something new” – so it makes sense that planting/starting seeds is what she looks forward to the most. Originally from Cincinnati, Stephanie would pick mid-morning over any other time of day, and if she could create a holiday, it would be a Day of the Arts, which is no surprise since art is a source of inspiration for her. Time with family and friends is how she spends her leisure moments when she’s not working in her organic garden. Fun fact: Stephanie’s favorite word in the English language is “love.”
Alden
Cashier
Alden comes to Kerby’s after living in Germany, South Korea, Alaska, Arizona, and Texas. We’re glad he made his way here! His favorite plant is the Edelweiss flower because of its beauty and memories he associates with it. Gardening is very therapeutic for him, and he gets joy from deadheading because “it lets the plants show how pretty they can be with a little help.” When he’s not beautifying plants, Alden enjoys reading in his hammock, and his own little successes and dreams for his life motivate him. Fun fact: Alden wants to backpack across the world.
Alice
Garden Designer
Hillsborough County has always been home to Alice, and we discovered that she placed second in a Hillsborough County Schools gifted program writing contest when she was in sixth grade. She enjoys gardening to keep her connected to nature and because it reminds her of working in the yard with her mother. An avid cook and baker, Alice’s favorite plants are Herbs, and she has shared her culinary skills with the rest of the staff, to our delight. Fun fact: if you put Alice in charge of inventing a holiday, it would have to involve animals.
Allison
Sales Area Leader – Annuals and Perennials
Allison loves spending time outdoors: gardening, kayaking, going to the beach, riding her cruiser bike…talk about a life lived outside! She credits nature as being an inspiration to her, along with music and her 88-year-old neighbor. Planting, watering, and fertilizing are her favorite activities in the garden, and she’s currently putting the Florida native Beautyberry at the top of her plant list because of its benefits to our ecosystem. If Allison got to invent a holiday, it would involve plants. Fun fact: Allison was born at home with a midwife.
Bella
Cashier
Bella must have been meant to work with plants because green is her favorite color. She is mesmerized by seeing new roots grow and leaves form when she propagates plants, and Hoyas are her number one plant because all the varieties make them fun to collect. Gardening reminds her that good things usually take time. She believes it’s important to create a life you can’t wait to wake up to – we love that sentiment! Fun fact: Bella has a zoo of 28 pets, including chickens, dogs, a cat, a tortoise, and a leopard gecko (she made sure to note that number doesn’t include her 2 sisters!).
Brian
Sales Area Leader – Trees; Delivery and Installation
Given an option, Brian will choose planting over other garden activities, so it works out well that he oversees our plant installation service. Any holiday he might invent would involve spending time in nature, and he enjoys attending sporting events and concerts in his leisure time. Gardening helps Brian relax and get away from the stresses of everyday life, and Calatheas are his favorite plants because of the varieties and variegations they come in. Plus, he thinks it’s neat how they fold their leaves to pray at night. He is inspired by his grandfather. Fun fact: Brian won his middle school’s geography bee in 8th grade.
Claire
Cashier
“Make your words sweet and kind because someday you may have to eat them” is the best advice Claire has received. Sounds good to us! Claire enjoys weeding in her garden with her cat Cici. Even though bright yellow is her favorite color, her favorite plant is the bluish-purple Delphinium with its stalk of flowers that press beautifully. Claire uses pressed flowers and paper from around the world when making handmade books, which she is fond of doing along with baking and making pasta. She believes healthy gardens are sustainers of life, both for humans and wildlife. Fun fact: Claire is inspired by movies with the themes of endurance and overcoming obstacles.
Elizabeth
Sales Support Staff – Greenhouse
When she’s not gardening, you can find the Florida-born-and-raised Elizabeth spending time with her dogs and cats. She is an animal lover whose favorite time of day is any time she can be outside with her dogs running around the backyard. Her favorite thing about gardening is watching her plants sprout and grow, and she relishes growing her own vegetables for her kitchen. The Desert Rose is her chosen plant for its all-around look with fun branches and flowers. “Awesome” is her favorite word, purple is her color, and her family gives her inspiration. Fun fact: Elizabeth likes to be outdoors hiking, taking walks, and riding bikes.
Josh
Sales Associate – Trees
Josh is our Cacti king. He loves to propagate his favorite plant, the Prickly Pear Cactus, and our staff benefits when he brings us some as gifts. Josh believes that gardening can save the world and that it’s best to treat people with respect because you never know what you’re going to get. He likes nighttime when it’s cooler, he draws inspiration from the sky as the sun sets, and blood red is his favorite color. He has fun playing video games when not gardening, and a holiday that involves food is the way he wants to celebrate. Fun fact: according to Josh, “the” is the best word ever because it is versatile.
Kaylee
Cashier
Staghorn Ferns fascinate Kaylee due to their unique shape and how massive they grow. For her, gardening means keeping the environment looking beautiful AND keeping it healthy – it’s a win-win – and she has the most fun watering plants and weeding. Kaylee was born and raised in Florida and believes that you can do whatever you set your mind to. It’s that attitude that encourages her to find inspiration in everything. An animal lover, she also enjoys reading, photography, and spending time with her family. Fun fact: Kaylee plays the cello and was in her high school’s chamber orchestra. Another resident musician!
Lorraine
Cashier
Lorraine and dancing go together at Kerby’s; she’s been known to demonstrate her experience in ballroom, Latin, swing, and line dancing for us. When it comes to gardening, she is partial to the Gerbera Daisy and spending time watering and propagating plants. Gardening calms her mind. Her neighbors must be so grateful because when she’s not gardening, she picks up trash around the neighborhood while walking her dog. Dawn is Lorraine’s favorite time of day when the birds and butterflies are feeding but most of the world is still asleep. Fun fact: Lorraine has gone skydiving 300 times.
Lydia
Social Media Manager
Lydia recalls gardening with her mother, planting Portulaca every spring in a pair of her old rain boots that her dad drilled holes into for drainage. She always thought the vibrant blooms and rubbery foliage looked spectacular with her yellow and purple boots! She likes to spend her time in the garden pruning and deadheading plants, creating something beautiful and long-lasting. Movies and stories that teach her about history and how it impacts us today are motivating to Lydia, and she appreciates discussions about how we can make changes for a better future. Fun fact: Lydia went down Switzerland’s longest alpine slide, Rodelbahn Frakigaudi, on Mount Pilatus.
Nya
Sales Support Staff – Annuals and Perennials
It’s hard for Nya to choose a favorite plant; she likes both Coral Bells because of their bright foliage and Mimosa pudica because of their cool leaves. Gardening is a way she can help the native environment as well as develop her ability to grow plants on her own, a skill that is important to her. She is drawn to the color amber, crocheting, the dawn, and following gardeners online, both locally and around the world. She thinks it’s fun that a group of rattlesnakes is called a “rumba.” Fun fact: when she was in high school, Nya was indirectly struck by lightning. (Not sure this is really a FUN fact, but it’s a fact!)
Olivia
Cashier
Olivia’s personal motto is “to love what you do and have fun doing it.” When it comes to gardening, she appreciates that it encourages her faith and gets her out in the sun, not to mention that she loves being able to inspire new growth by deadheading. Even though they go dormant in the winter, the Plumeria is her go-to plant because it’s worth the wait for the dark green leaves and the fragrant flowers that cover it. You may need to look up her favorite word, “sonder,” as it’s relatively new in English. Fun fact: Olivia listens to a lot of music, but you won’t pigeonhole her into just one genre – her tastes run the gamut.
Pam
Cashier
There are multiple reasons why gardening is valuable to Pam: it brings wildlife to her yard, it creates beauty, it keeps her bones moving, and, quite simply, it makes her happy. She favors using the Ornamental Peanut plant as a substitute for mulch, and the day’s sweet spot for Pam is early evening when birds flock to the feeder and bird bath while the sun’s rays bring out the flowers’ exquisite colors. She stays busy swimming, playing word games, tricycling, watching good movies, and listening to music. Fun fact: Pam won the science fair in 8th grade and went on to win one of 11 regional awards from the Ford Future Scientists of America Foundation.
Patrick
Sales Area Leader – Shrubs
Patrick is a proud 8th generation Floridian who has been gardening since he was a boy. He is always fascinated by the plant hybrids humans have made over thousands of years. Pruning and shaping plants are his favorite garden activities, and the Canna Lily wins his vote for number one plant because it is not only beautiful but useful. It makes a rich compost and has edible tubers. He enjoys creating, so it’s no surprise that he is inspired by artists and their work: painters, cheesemakers, woodworkers, plant breeders, architects, chefs, dancers, and more. Fun fact: Patrick played soccer, football, and rugby growing up.
Tara
Special Projects Director
The health benefits, the gorgeous colors, the design options – these are the reasons Tara gardens. She finds weeding to be a calming, therapeutic, and satisfying activity, and having grown up in Southeast Asia, Palms are her choice in plants because they remind her of the Tropics and come in various shades of green (her color). Color in general energizes her (National Color Day, anyone?), and that precious period when the day is done but she’s not quite going to sleep is when she has her “Me Time.” Fun fact: Tara played the Scarecrow in her high school’s production of “The Wizard of Oz.”
Minervo Gomez
21 Years with Kerby’s Nursery
We sadly lost Minervo in February 2024. Below is his original bio, and as it mentions, the Nursery is not the same without him.
Minervo has been at Kerby’s longer than anyone else currently – we cannot imagine the Nursery without him. He loves the look of a full, well-established garden, so planting, fertilizing, and constant maintenance of the plants are his favorite parts of gardening. He appreciates all plants and doesn’t have a preferred one, but if he had to pick a special color or two, he would go for blue and cherry. Minervo believes it’s important to relate to everyone with a smile, respect, and a good attitude. He draws inspiration from projects he comes up with. Fun fact: Minervo’s hard work to make the nursery look beautiful has resulted in customers blowing him kisses of congratulations and gratitude.
Minervo ha estado aqui en Kerby’s más tiempo que nadie. Actualmente, no podemos imaginar Kerby’s sin él. Le encanta el aspecto de un jardín completo y bien establecido, por lo que plantar, fertilizar y mantener constantemente las plantas son sus partes favoritas de la jardinería. Aprecia todas las plantas y no tiene una preferida, pero si tuviera que elegir uno o dos colores especiales, optaría por el azul y rojo. Minervo cree que es importante relacionarse con todos con una sonrisa, respeto y una buena actitud. Se inspira en los proyectos que se le ocurren. Algo interesante: el arduo trabajo de Minervo para hacer que la guardería se vea hermosa ha resultado en que los clientes le lancen besos de felicitación y gratitud.
Precious
Diva-in-Residence
Precious wandered into Kerby’s and into our hearts a decade ago, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Her favorite activity in the garden is napping (somehow, she gets away with that!), and the plant that she chooses every time is Catnip. Of course, green is her favorite color, which is why she chose Kerby’s for her permanent home. Precious likes to join us in our staff huddle first thing in the morning…because she knows breakfast is served right after. Fun fact: Precious would enjoy hosting her own show called “Napping in the Garden with Precious: Tips from an Expert”…if she could wake up long enough to discuss her strategies.
Anybody can sell you plants, we make sure you succeed.