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Breaking the mold
I've studied and worked as a gardener for 34 years now. I worked in garden centers and nurseries while getting my undergraduate and graduate degrees in horticulture, so I've always had this nice combination of hands-on, practical learning and the more scientific training as well. When I first started in this field, it was far more male-dominated than it is today. People would pass me by in a garden center to talk to my older male colleague, and he would direct them to me and say, "I'm sorry, she can answer your question." I guess I've never fit the image of what people think a gardener should look like or be.
A balancing act
One of the reasons I wrote my new book on high-impact, low-care plants
is that I was pretty much forced over the years to say, "Wow this plant is just too much maintenance, and I don't have time to mess around with it." So I looked to plants that will give as much bang for the buck as possible. I didn't want to give up the beauty of the plants for low maintenance. so I looked for the balance of plants that are beautiful but easy to care for. That's how to achieve gardening success in this busy, high-tech world. Stick with tried-and-true plants. There are plants we know we'll have success with. We're not going to waste time, money, and natural resources in managing them. But we're still going to have all the bling, all the fun.
Continuing to stretch and grow
I'm very passionate about sports and fitness in addition to gardening. I used to teach fitness classes (I've even done an exercise video) and my 19-year-old son is a big-time runner, so it just evolved that my husband and I started doing triathlons while taking turns driving Zachary to various parks to run. Now that our Zachary is out of the house and we have a little more time and more independence, triathlons have developed into a wonderful hobby that we're very passionate about. We do about eight triathlons a year, including racing for Team USA. It's a nice thing for an empty nester to move into.
I'm not sure what tomorrow is, but in ten years I hope to still be involved in fitness. It's very empowering. These days we have women in their 80s competing in triathlons, who look and act phenomenally. Talk about inspiration!
I've studied and worked as a gardener for 34 years now. I worked in garden centers and nurseries while getting my undergraduate and graduate degrees in horticulture, so I've always had this nice combination of hands-on, practical learning and the more scientific training as well. When I first started in this field, it was far more male-dominated than it is today. People would pass me by in a garden center to talk to my older male colleague, and he would direct them to me and say, "I'm sorry, she can answer your question." I guess I've never fit the image of what people think a gardener should look like or be.
A balancing act
One of the reasons I wrote my new book on high-impact, low-care plants is that I was pretty much forced over the years to say, "Wow this plant is just too much maintenance, and I don't have time to mess around with it." So I looked to plants that will give as much bang for the buck as possible. I didn't want to give up the beauty of the plants for low maintenance. so I looked for the balance of plants that are beautiful but easy to care for. That's how to achieve gardening success in this busy, high-tech world. Stick with tried-and-true plants. There are plants we know we'll have success with. We're not going to waste time, money, and natural resources in managing them. But we're still going to have all the bling, all the fun.Continuing to stretch and grow
I'm very passionate about sports and fitness in addition to gardening. I used to teach fitness classes (I've even done an exercise video) and my 19-year-old son is a big-time runner, so it just evolved that my husband and I started doing triathlons while taking turns driving Zachary to various parks to run. Now that our Zachary is out of the house and we have a little more time and more independence, triathlons have developed into a wonderful hobby that we're very passionate about. We do about eight triathlons a year, including racing for Team USA. It's a nice thing for an empty nester to move into.
I'm not sure what tomorrow is, but in ten years I hope to still be involved in fitness. It's very empowering. These days we have women in their 80s competing in triathlons, who look and act phenomenally. Talk about inspiration!
What's the best gardening advice you ever received? Click to join the conversation--you may win a FREE COPY of Tracy's new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants!
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