A quick look at two incredible displays from the show today. The arrangement with the bench in front is the work of my good friend and former coworker Joanna Cranford. The other spectacular display is the masterpiece of Troy Marden. I'm thinking that Troy and Joanna drew their inspiration after seeing my hair during a mid-winter static electricity moment....
Being somewhat new to the blogging world, it took me a little while to figure out what exactly the Honest Scrap Award was. The wonderful landscape designer, Rebecca Sweet (http://gossipinthegarden.com ), tagged me with this "honor" so I'll describe it in my her own words,
Being somewhat new to the blogging world, it took me a little while to figure out what exactly the Honest Scrap Award was. The wonderful landscape designer, Rebecca Sweet (http://gossipinthegarden.com ), tagged me with this "honor" so I'll describe it in my her own words, What is the Honest Scrap Award?Well it’s not really an award, per se.It’s more like a TAG, you’re it! type of post where I tell anyone who’s interested 10 things about myself that they would never get from my post. I then tag 7 more lucky folk at recipients of Honest Scrap and they get to do the same. So ready or not, here I am:
1. My foray into the horticulture world is the old story of turning a passionate hobby into a profession. Having grown up on a farm in middle Georgia, with my daddy a forester and momma a mainstay in the garden club, a love of plants was inbreed in my soul. While I pursued a post college career of nutritional counseling and then full-time mom, you'd often find me either puttering in the garden putting in a new plant or strumming my guitar writing a new song. You see, gardening was just a part of life, and I thought my future was destined for song writing. After moving to Nashville and experiencing the slightest bit of interest in my songs (I was runner up one month on the VH1 songwriting contest), I realized that people were more interested in me composing gardens and container plantings for them than they were in me composing new songs. So now I orchestrate the harmony of horticultural color, texture, and beauty in MusicCity.
2. Speaking of MusicCity, one of my fun clients is a gal named Heidi Newfield who some may know as the lead singer of Trick Pony and now solo artist ("Johnny and June" - CMA award nominee). I got to do a backyard redo for her on the Discovery Home Channel show called "Picture This", which was a whole lot of fun in spite of the temperature being 104 degrees every day.
3. I used to have to milk our cow while in high school. Daddy thought it would build character.
1. My foray into the horticulture world is the old story of turning a passionate hobby into a profession. Having grown up on a farm in middle Georgia, with my daddy a forester and momma a mainstay in the garden club, a love of plants was inbreed in my soul. While I pursued a post college career of nutritional counseling and then full-time mom, you'd often find me either puttering in the garden putting in a new plant or strumming my guitar writing a new song. You see, gardening was just a part of life, and I thought my future was destined for song writing. After moving to Nashville and experiencing the slightest bit of interest in my songs (I was runner up one month on the VH1 songwriting contest), I realized that people were more interested in me composing gardens and container plantings for them than they were in me composing new songs. So now I orchestrate the harmony of horticultural color, texture, and beauty in MusicCity.
2. Speaking of MusicCity, one of my fun clients is a gal named Heidi Newfield who some may know as the lead singer of Trick Pony and now solo artist ("Johnny and June" - CMA award nominee). I got to do a backyard redo for her on the Discovery Home Channel show called "Picture This", which was a whole lot of fun in spite of the temperature being 104 degrees every day.
3. I used to have to milk our cow while in high school. Daddy thought it would build character.
4. I love watching football. It helps having four sons to feed that love of football, but I loved it even before they came along. Initially, I think it was because I had a huge crush on the quarterback of our high school football team (did you know that, Wilmer Moore Dickey, III?). I ended up being the football team manager, and when I went to Auburn University, I asked the coach if I could be the first female manager/trainer of his team. He agreed but said I couldn't date any of the players - I declined.
5. I'm terrified of heights, which is a horrible thing for someone who has to climb up ladders to plant windowboxes and column pots.
6. My car broke down on my way back to college on the interstate miles from an exit, and I sat for 8 hours on the side of the road hoping someone would stop and help me. (This was waaaaay before cell phones.) It was below freezing weather and I put on every piece of clothing from my suitcase. Two 18-wheelers finally stopped around 3a.m. and tried to get my car started. They said they always stop in pairs for protection - for each other! One of the guys drove me to an all night dinner and got me some hot chocolate, and I called some friends who lived about 30 miles away to come pick me up. Those truck drivers never gave me their names - I think they are angel truck drivers!
7. I have a brother who is 2 months younger than my oldest son.
8. While I write and sing mostly country or pop music, I LOVE to sing opera! Just ask my kids, they are ones with ear plugs.
9. In college I spent a summer taking out backpacking groups in the Appalachian Mountains, and two summers as the Nature Trail Lady at a summer camp.
10. I hope to write novels that involve a group of eclectic plant nerds who save the world.
So here’s the second part of this post – my pick of 7 super interesting gardeners who I’m hoping will participate and ‘bare it all’….and if you choose to participate, please remember to send your “Chosen 7″ a Tweet/Poke/email/or something to let them know they’ve been nominated!
1. Jan Bills of www.TWOwomenANDaHOE.com
2. Carri Stokes of http://readbetweenthelimes.blogspot.com/
3. Lisa Gustavson of www.getinthegarden.com
4. Katie Elzer-Peters of http://thegardenofwords.wordpress.com/
5. Billy Goodnick of www.finegardening.com/blog (Billy, let me know if there is a better address!)
6. Fern Richardson of www.lifeonthebalcony.com
7. Susan Young of www.getinfrontcommunications.com
"Gardening is not some sort of game by which one proves his superiority over others, nor is it a marketplace for the display of elegant things that others cannot afford. It is, on the contrary, a growing work of creation, endless in its changing elements. It is not a monument or an achievement, but a sort of traveling, a kind of pilgrimage you might say, often a bit grubby and sweaty though true pilgrims do not mind that. A garden is not a picture, but a language, which is of course the major art of life." Henry Mitchell "The Essential Earthman"
I work as the Floriculture Director for Landscape Services, Inc. My job includes designing and planting semi-annually hundreds of annual beds containers and garden beds for commercial development, neighborhoods, and residents requesting our horticulture services. I love my job and the opportunity to bring beauty to our local communities. Most of all, I love introducing new plant material to the average gardener, and to helping them find success in their own gardens.
CRAPE MURDER!
Find out what went wrong here at
4. I love watching football. It helps having four sons to feed that love of football, but I loved it even before they came along. Initially, I think it was because I had a huge crush on the 
quarterback of our high school football team (did you know that, Wilmer Moore Dickey, III?). I ended up being the football team manager, and when I went to Auburn University, I asked the coach if I could be the first female manager/trainer of his team. He agreed but said I couldn't date any of the players - I declined.
