My Methods
Being in the garden is a connection with the natural world even if it's in a 12" square pot. I like to be apart of that world and tread lightly as I bridge the gap between cultivated and uncultivated spaces. How do I do this?
1) I primarily only use hand tools to complete maintenance work and most installations. At 8:00 AM you should hear birds greeting you for the day, not a leaf blower or hedge trimmer.
2) I practice Integrated Pest Management and try to use only non-synthetic products when environmental adjustments are not working to solve problems. * I will always check with the client before using a product for the first time in a space. Organic products are preferred.
3) I lean heavily on native species for perennial, shrub, and tree plantings, but I understand the sentimental love of old garden varieties that may have come from Europe and Asia. If the space is calling for something more exotic, I will not recommend nor will I plant any invasive or potentially invasive plants. In most situations, there is a substitution for almost any plant out there to achieve the same goal or aesthetic.
4) Creating open lines of communication to ensure both parties are feeling fulfilled with work agreements is top a goal of Resilience Gardening. I strive for an understanding of client values and personal aesthetic when getting to know new clients. Remaining flexible in my service to meet monetary and qualitative value of the work per the client is important for client satisfaction and I welcome feedback as part of that process.
The Full Story
When I was a kid, I started my first garden with tomatoes planted in a pie tin. I placed it in the living room bay window overlooking cornfields in rural Illinois. This was my first venture into the dirt on my own. Up until then, I had watched my dad drive a tractor and plant acres of corn in the fields around my house and observed as my grandmother tended to long rows of pink and white peonies that lined her drive across the street. I didn't know the word stewardship then, nor the fact that when you start a garden, you begin to develop a relationship of ups and downs with the uncultivated world.
I've been following the calendar closely every year since, just waiting to get out in the dirt each spring. As I grew older, I even found ways to keep gardening throughout the winter. After earning a degree in Ecology, I became a zookeeper for my first career. But I continued to work in the gardening world. I spent 15 years in reputable garden centers across the Great Plains, learning from plant wizards and seasoned gardeners who had spent more time learning about gardening than years I had been alive. As a horticulturalist, I tended to container gardens and interior plants displays at the headquarters of high-end, worldwide companies while I lived near Seattle, WA. When I moved to Denver, CO for my last zoo job, I began Resilience Gardening on the side and it changed my trajectory forever.
Resilience Gardening changed my life. Since 2016, I have loved helping people care for their spaces as we all go though challenges with the climate, learn smarter ways to garden in this semi-arid region, and reshape what cultivated gardens "should" look like. Let's appreciate our region and the plants that are naturally designed to thrive here! I turned Resilience Gardening into my full-time job and left what many consider to be a dream job. One reward of this endeavor is advancing client's understanding of sustainable landscaping but my biggest motivation comes from when I'm given this compliment,"Now, this feels like me." How we feel in the spaces we call home or work in matters to our well-being. Collaborating with clients to evolve their homes year after year is work I have never been more proud of.