About Me
I was born and grew up in the plains of Oklahoma. You know you are a true Okie when you learn to read radar and instead of seeking cover when the tornado sirens sound, you grab your camera and go outside, yelling “Where is it!”
You could say, “Gardening is in my blood.” My parents have a vegetable garden every year and my grandparents were Kansas wheat farmers. So when I moved to GA in 2014, it was the first time I had ‘dirt’ of my own and I started my first garden.
My Mom recently reminded me of the irony behind this whole gardening thing as my parents could never get me to work in the garden growing up. I hated weeding and would say, “It’s disgusting hot work!”
I loved fresh strawberries and strawberry jam; I just wouldn’t take care of the strawberry bed. Canning pickles was a stinky business. (I think that’s why to this day I dislike the smell of vinegar.) I remember zinnias as tall as me. And though I claimed them as mine, I never weeded or watered them. The only thing I did enjoy about gardening was harvesting various plants and juicing tomatoes and canning them. Although, the majority of the peas I picked didn’t end up on the table. They were SO delicious!
The irony of all ironies, while weeding is still, “disgusting, hot work” I love gardening and it’s now a part of my job!
Currently, I’m a librarian at the Jefferson Public Library and I run the Jefferson Seed Library, making me the Seed Librarian. This involves many moving pieces from researching how to grow each seed we get, to running and maintaining the website, excelatgardening.com, to creating the growing tips handouts, repackaging seeds and so many other numerous little things.
I also design the Jefferson Public Library’s garden each year. I grow most of the plants from seed and then transplant them into the garden. If you see a pink glow coming from our workroom, it’s not a portal to another dimension, it’s the grow lights! Each year I design the garden and plan where the annuals will go. We support 2 kinds of butterflies from egg to adult. I make sure they have their host plants and nectar plants.
If you stop by the library, feel free to look for the Monarch and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail caterpillars and enjoy the numerous other butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds that visit our garden. I also (try to) maintain the garden with the limited amount of time I can dedicate to weeding and pruning. I do get some help from time to time from the Jefferson Woman’s Club and other volunteers.
I now have 10 years of gardening experience. I desire to share with you what I have learned and carefully researched. Gardening can be overwhelming at times. And some of the misinformation out there can complicate matters. I’ll tell you what is my personal experience and my opinions. When I research, I give you the sources where I got information, so you can explore further. I try to only use reputable sources and to research each plant thoroughly, but we are all learning and growing in our knowledge.
So here’s to you, my fellow gardener! May your rows always be straight, your harvests bountiful, and your pests deterred!