About Us

Hi, my name is Cody Zinker and my love for plants started when I was a child growing up in agricultural south Florida. My grandmother had me do chores around her yard which included planting pineapple tops, taking rose cuttings, and mixing potting soil. I helped her pick Antidesma (Antidesma bunius) berries for her famous jelly and collected four o'clock seeds from her flower beds. At home I discovered that our Yellow Tabebuia tree (Tabebuia aurea ) would drop hundreds of seeds all over our yard and I began growing these seeds into young trees and selling them to my relatives. In high school agriculture we grew Scaevola from cuttings for the Florida Department of Transportation and this is when I realized that I enjoyed making money playing in the dirt.

When my wife, Andrea, and I bought our house in 2015, our yard inspired me to get back into plants, specify native plants that would attract birds and butterflies. I have devoted a lot of time researching native plants and what would grow well with minimal maintenance after planting in North Florida. Zinker Plants started as a blog called Cody's Plants in 2016 so I could keep a record of what grew well in Tallahassee. In 2019 the name changed to Zinker Plants with the goal of expanding our inventory. Our goal with Zinker Plants is to help educate people of the benefits of planting native and wildlife attracting plants and offer these plants to the community.

This is a family business with our two kids. We have a year round organic garden and focus on sustainable living. Some of our favorite things from the garden are cucumbers, butter lettuce, carrots, yellow squash, and never ending sweet potatoes! Our two kids help us plant and maintain the garden and picking flowers. Andrea enjoys cooking and experimenting with new recipes and canning. We are outside everyday doing something with the garden and nursery.

Boy Scouts, hunting, fishing, and conservation have guided my interests into growing native plants. In our spare time we all enjoy exploring local parks, going on the boat, and traveling.