Landscape Designer

Parallel to my design gene was a budding (pun intended) love of nature and gardening. My family always had a garden. I remember my grandmother especially, growing vegetables and old-fashioned flowers like balsam, portulaca, petunias, marigolds, etc., always from seeds of course. I also remember picking my neighbors tulips and bringing them to her door. She was none too happy to see me that day.

We had a patch of mint right outside the back door that I can still smell now, and used it in our sweeeeet tea (is there another kind when you live in Athens, GA.) Little did I know that humble gardening beginning would eventually fuse with my interior design training and become my second career passion- landscape design.

Gardening and nature have been a integral part of my life even since the days that I lugged around those house plants as a nomadic student. Even at U of F I had a roommate studying Ornamental Horticulture and we shared gardening interests and built a small lean-to greenhouse together. She would frequently recite botanical names to learn for her tests, and I would memorize them for her. That high school Latin came in handy after all. I have had my hands in the dirt all of my adult life, and grow everything from asters to zinnias and back.

Another natural progression occurred to me one day when I decided to merge my design and gardening skills. That I did, and I continue to learn from nature and am awed by her beauty. This earth is an amazing gift full of bounty and abundance. I reverently work upon her soil.

My interior design skills allow me to bring a unique perspective to landscape design and outdoor living. I design from the inside-out so to speak, in order to capture important views that otherwise might go unnoticed. My designs blend functionality and aesthetics from the interior to the exterior, as I  believe ideally that design is a continuum.

My credentials include:

• Bachelor of Design in Interior Design- University of Florida
• Virginia Certified Interior Designer
• Professional member ASID (American Society of Interior Designers)
• Professional member VSLD (Virginia Society of Landscape Designers)
• Virginia Certified Horticulturalist
• Virginia Master Gardener