About this Flower Gardener

I’m an environmentalist and I’ve always worked to help save the earth. Along the way, while I was growing organic vegetables as a small market gardener and selling them at the local farmer’s market, I couldn’t resist the urge to grow flowers while I was at it.

I’d always been drawn to dried flowers. I loved the vivid colors, the papery textures, and how they could be mixed with so many natural items to create a natural décor. And they were so colorful through the winter.

I once had an opportunity to learn how to make wreaths with dried flowers at an herb farm and nursery. That’s when I really fell in love with those flowers, and had to continue.

So when I had my little market garden I had to include drying flowers. I started making wreaths and colorful dried arrangements.

One of my first bouquets for market
Old photo of me with one of my first bouquets for market
Close-up of me with big jar of flowers
Me now, growing as many flowers as I can in a small space.

As I met other flower growers, I learned so much from them, and I really got hooked on flower growing. So I grew and sold vegetables, fresh cut flowers, dried flowers in bouquets and wreaths, and other fun stuff like garlic braids woven with dried flowers.

We started a family, moved to a new piece of land and started from absolute scratch, and I sold plants of beautiful flowers and herbs, wreaths, fresh cut flowers, teas, and seasoning blends all from my garden.

Now, I live in a suburban house in a small town with a nice backyard. And I’ve started from scratch again. I grow flowers as a home gardener for my home. I plant the volume (though, I do tend to overdo it) of plants that I’ll need for fresh cut bouquets all summer through fall, and for dried arrangements for the winter until the spring. With extra to give away as gifts.

I’m still an environmentalist, and I write blogs and articles about planting native plants instead of ornamentals to sustain our biodiversity. We need to keep our insect and pollinator populations healthy, our birds and all the other wildlife populations healthy and thriving—and they depend on the insects. You can read my blogs at BeautifulBluePlanet.com and MyDelightfulGardens.com for more.

Current research advises us to have our home landscape and our greater landscape around us at 70% native. That is, the biomass of native plants at 70% of all the plants in home landscapes.  This is to sustain the native insects (all good insects) at a population that can sustain native birds rearing their broods. I figure, the other 30% can be our vegetable gardens, herbs, and our flowers. And maybe a few favorite ornamentals here and there. For more on this topic see my blog, BeautifulBluePlanet.com.

I’m lucky, my yard is mostly native and I am planting a lot more. That way I can feed the important insects (not the pests). The pollinators will have their food and habitat in my yard, the birds will find their protein supply for their nestlings, and I can still bring in my flowers! I squeeze in vegetables and my herbs live with my perennial flowers. Oh, and of course I use only organic practices!

I’ve been at this house for two years now. I’ve been building my garden up and should have a fantastic harvest this year, 2021! I’ll be replacing my current photos with new ones as my new harvest comes in.

Ready to know what to grow, how to grow it, and start enjoying lots of beautiful cut flowers from your home garden? Get started here…