About Me

I am from a long linage of gardeners. My dad and grandmother were connected to the soil in a special way. Growing up I hated weeding those long rows. In the eighties I discovered Square Foot Gardening. Everything planted in 4x4-foot raised beds. No hoe needed! I was hooked! Years later, traveling by train in France, I was fascinated by the backyards. No grass, just garden after garden. The seed was planted. An entire backyard with plants, no mowing!

In 2005 we bought our current home. Before the deed was transferred, I had mentally transformed the back yard into a garden. Inspired by Georgiana Brennan (In the French Garden) and Mel Bartholomew (Square Foot Gardening) I now have a potager with 8 raised beds plus a strawberry tower, 4 blueberry bushes, 3 fig trees and a cutting garden. Being married to an engineer is an added bonus. All I need to do is say “I wonder if” or “I would like” and he immediately starts to figure a way to make it happen. Thanks to my husband, my potager houses a pretty red garden shed complete with a custom potting bench. He has built my greenhouse twice (thanks to the devastating ice storm of 2009.) He also designed and made self watering planters for the fig trees and other container plants.

I would not be considered a certified organic gardener but I use organic methods as much as practical. I make my own compost, collect rain water and do lots of recycling. I don’t have time to hand pick little insurgents, but do try to prevent their invasion. If that doesn’t work, I try natural pesticides. If that doesn’t work,….well I keep a little malathion and Sevin on the shelf, just in case.

 
I am a registered nurse, avid bicyclist and artist (okay maybe a crafter, but artist sounds better.) But my passion is in my little potager in Paducah, KY (and being Grandma Chris!)