The Garden Gal at three years old.
My mother planted the gardening bug in my heart when I was very young. I can still remember the special children’s garden seed packet she purchased from a major seed catalog. We poured out the seeds into my small hand. I was fascinated with all the shapes and forms and so excited by the fact that I would have my very own garden! Every year we had a garden and I watched my mother work hard to make our northern Michigan sand dune soil produce. It was an uphill battle – she got countless loads of manure delivered, and we had a big compost pile behind the garden to try to amend the soil. And a real old wooden rain barrel collected water off the shed roof – in short – many of the basic principles of how to amend soils and conserve and reuse natural resources were taught to me at a very young age. Both of my parents fostered a respect for nature and natural resources, and my taste for veggies was a pleasant side effect!
My Mother shows me the sunflowers she grew; I am 1 year old. 
In 1994 I received a Bachelors of Science in Biology from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo Michigan. I went on to earn my Master’s degree from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California at Irvine. After graduating, I taught biology at the High school level and also taught and tutored elementary age children before turning to business ventures with my husband, Eric. During my schooling, teaching and business careers I continued to garden whether it was a communal garden plot, the small space on our condo patio, or my mother-in-law’s front yard landscaping . . . I just couldn’t seem to keep my hands out of the dirt! This life-long gardening interest lead me to become the Green Garden Gal. My mission is to bring beautiful and useful outdoor spaces to your home!
