About the Author and VW Garden Blog Purpose

My dad introduced me to gardening when I was a teenager.  He had learned from his mother, and she from both her parents.  I feel close to all of them when I'm working in my garden.  I loved gardening and plants so much that I earned a bachelor's degree in Urban Horticulture and Landscape Design from Brigham Young University.  By the time I graduated, I had worked in two plant nurseries and learned a lot from books, trials and errors.  I then worked at a seed company for a couple years.  I haven't pursued landscape design as a business, but happily give gardening and landscape design advice to friends and neighbors.  I enjoy occasional opportunities to teach gardening and design classes.
I currently serve as assistant to the Spokane LDS Temple Grounds Director, where I design the spring bulb and summer annual gardens as well as advise on how to keep the rest of the grounds healthy and beautiful.  I plan the bulb gardens for a succession of color from Eranthis hyemalis in February through 'Black Hero' tulips in late May.  While I'm more of a perennial and shrub gardener at home, I really enjoy the chance to work with annuals at the Temple. 
After we purchased our home in the summer of 2007, I began ravenously researching, planning, planting and transplanting the plants that I wanted to have around me for the next few decades.  Right now my cultivar list is at about four hundred.  I love them all.  My design style is definitely plant-driven, and I'm interested in growing flowers that I can enjoy in the garden or cut and use in arrangements.
This blog provides place for me to record some of my experiences with gardening, garden design, and floral arranging, and hopefully allows others to learn from what I share.  College classes created a great foundation for me, but experience is the true teacher.  I delight in experimenting and learning new lessons each year.
Thank you to my talented friend Amber McArthur for capturing the photo of me above in the summer of 2016.  Although I give general permission for readers to use my own photos in wholesome and appropriate ways, please do not copy or use Amber's photo.