nora

I’m a recovering attorney, now a stay-at-home mom of 2 great and really energetic daughters. I’ve always loved gardens and design, but came to gardening initially through trying to create a nice outdoor “room” on a small urban balcony. Many containers later, we moved to the suburbs and our small (1/3 acre) plot of land, where love turned to full-on gardening obsession.

As time has gone on, I’ve become more aware of the fragility of our ecosystem, and the need to protect the environment, which led me to become a fully organic gardener. I’ve also discovered the strange thrill of making compost! Sometimes when the news is grim, and global ecological disaster seems both imminent and irreversible, I take a cup of coffee and wander in our garden and reflect on how we’ve transformed an almost empty rectangle of land, barren except for a flourishing asphalt drive, a sickly maple and a dying dogwood tree into a mini haven for birds, bats, butterflies, many types of bees and insects, and countless toads (not to mention rabbits, possums, squirrels and other slightly less beneficial garden visitors), I feel a lot better. It really is possible to make a difference. Good though that feeling is, though, it’s the sheer beauty of nature that keeps me hooked on gardening.

The garden isn’t finished of course, and every year I discover new plants, new combinations, and fix past gardening missteps. This year, I started my first vegetable garden, so I’m a total novice there. Should be fun!