Logan Schatz (left), Professor Lori Eckhardt (center), and Jessica Baldwin (right) measure the area for the sentinel garden at the Mary Olive Thomas Demonstration Forest.

You don’t need a green thumb to enjoy the beauty of a blooming azalea bush or a flourishing garden. But you may have never considered that a garden could have a superpower.

Unless, of course, you are Lori Eckhardt.

This professor at Auburn University’s College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment (CFWE) understands the power of gardens to be a first line of defense against plant diseases, pests and environmental changes.

Eckhardt earned funding to partner with the City of Mobile, Alabama, and the Alabama Port Authority to strategically locate sentinel gardens at the Port of Mobile as early warning systems for potential invaders.