How I Grow

I grow my flowers wherever there is decent soil and some sunshine!

I work with nature, not against it. I'd rather spend money on seeds than chemicals.

I don't use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides.

I keep my crops healthy using cover crops - like this lush patch of rye and wheat shown here.

I also use lots and lots of leaf mulch and wood chips to keep weeds under control and to introduce rich microbes into the soil season after season.

I make horribly smelly "witchy brews" (a bucket filled with rotting weeds and rainwater) to fertilize my flowers and keep diseases and bad bugs at bay.

Why does how I grow matter to you?

You can trust my flowers and crops are grown in such a way that respects and cares for the earth.

You should hear my gardens buzzing with bees once the first flowers bloom in spring!

You don't have to worry about bringing harmful chemicals into your home when you purchase my products.

Any purchase you make will not only support a local, small business and my big family, but it will also support the little patch of earth and all the native flora and fauna I have been blessed to have under my watch.

We wouldn't be here without that bee shown here on crimson clover! My gardens are a safe haven for all the tiny but mighty creatures we tend to take for granted.

Starting from seed

I start most of my flowers from seed.

I learned just about everything I know from Lisa Mason Ziegler - or "my friend Lisa" as my kids say to tease me. She doesn't know I exist (one of those virtual friends we all have, right?), but I wouldn't know about these cute little dirt brownies shown here without her!

For most of the year, you can find my upcycled Aldi Italian sausage trays all over the house with my baby plants sprouting from their individual soil blocks.

Each tiny seed has so much potential!

What a joy to see these sprouts growing up into the beautiful flowers they were designed to be.

From seed to garden to new creations

Here I am in my one of my favorite outfits - if you know me, you've seen me in it! I'm actually wearing that hoodie as I type this...

Anyway, this is my creation space - half of a 10 x 10 foot converted garage room. The other half is crammed with my 5 kids' Legos.

In the summer, the kids and I can be found in here all at once, listening to the "Totally 80s and More" radio station, and happily honing our crafts.

So between the flower petals and scattered Lego pieces (ouch!), this space can get trashed!

But beautiful things can come out of messy places.