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Plant Whisperer of South Tampa grows plants for her neighborhood

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TAMPA, Fla. — You can call her the Plant Whisperer. Gina Flynn-Carmack has a green thumb and a soft heart.

‘’Dealing with the plants and sharing them has really changed my state of mind a lot,” said Flynn-Carmack.

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Unable to go to work due to a disability she turned over a new leaf, focusing on gardening, a passion she has been rooted in since she was a child.

“I choose to have many of the same plants that my mom and dad had,” said Flynn-Carmack.

She said her dad’s favorite was aloe. It’s like a member of the family tree, literally. Flynn-Carmack said she's gotten to know her aloe plants so well that she can tell if they are having a good day or a bad day.

She said the thing about aloe is, it grows really fast.

“And it got to the point that the whole patio was pretty much over run with aloe,” said Flynn-Carmack

So last year Flynn-Carmack started giving it away throughout her Golf View neighborhood.

“I had over 117 people come and get aloe,” said Flynn-Carmack. “I felt as though a piece of my dad is all over south Tampa.”

She felt so good about branching out she began growing plants for all her neighbors, even taking requests.

“You don’t realize how many people you don’t know, even living here since the day I was born. You think you know everybody but you don’t so it’s been very, very fun,” said Flynn-Carmack.