The reluctant blogger

This is my first blog post ever and I have some mixed feelings about it. I am a published garden writer, but for some reason I have been wary of blogging. It's actually been more of an aversion. Too shy? Too humble? I'm not really sure, but today is the day that I decided to embark on this new adventure.

I am a horticulturist, and I have done a lot of different things throughout my career. The one mainstay has been my personal garden, where I have created a business (that also has its own evolutions) growing produce, herbs, and flowers. I have lived on this half-acre homestead in the middle of Des Moines with my husband and 2 children for almost 13 years. Over those years, we have taken the wide open space dotted with lilac bushes, an ever-growing buckeye tree, and a dividing line of peonies, and turned it into a little farm in the city.

When we bought our house, the term "urban farm" was not yet coined, at least not to my knowledge. We wanted to buy an acreage in the country where I could start my business and raise our kids. Alas, we couldn't afford anything that didn't require A LOT of work or take too long for Mr. Red Rooster to drive to work everyday. Then we found this house and it's expanse of lawn. It would make do. Little by little, we have tilled gardens, planted trees and berry bushes, flowers, and grasses, moved rocks and plants, and built a greenhouse. It looks like a lot of work, and I suppose it is, but I agree with that old saying that "it's not work if you love what you do".

My intention is to write about what's going on in my garden, but I also want to include recipes, organic gardening tips, craft ideas, and whatever else may come along.