I have a passion for digging in the dirt. It began with our backyard plot in Texas. As a child, I remember spending lots of time with my father planting seeds, weeding, and watching the vegetables grow. My love of gardening (and the outdoors) has continued into adulthood. No matter where we have moved (North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania…), I have always had at least a small plot for flowers or pots for tomatoes.
My background is in science, specifically ecology. I am interested in birding, native plants, mushrooms, insects, and all things outdoors. The scientist in me likes to learn how and why things function and/or the purpose, making my forays into gardening definite experiments.
Gardening has always relaxed me and rooted me (literally!). I now live in Mississippi (Zone 7b) and am blessed to have quite a large yard in which to play. This blog is my record of the experiments I try (and the results), the things I have learned, and the products that I have come to love and depend on to keep my yard and garden nice. With over 20 years of gardening, I am far from an expert, but I learn from all my experiments.
I always tell friends who are just starting out to not worry about mistakes. Do some research, then just go out and try something and if it works, great!, if not, you learn from your first experiment and try something new the next time. I hope these pages are helpful or at least entertaining for readers.