How did they do this? Was it someone you knew personally who strongly inspired you to garden or was it someone you admired from afar? Tell us who motivated you and how they did it.

Both of my parents inspired me to create beautiful and environmentally sustainable gardens.  My mother was also a Master Gardener and my father holds a PhD in Entomology (Apiculture--he's a Beekeper!).  We grew a beautiful and bountiful garden.  My mother taught us flower arranging from Ikebana to tradiational centerpieces and then showed us how to can and freeze fruits and vegatables.  She was both an artist and a craftsman and together they taught us the joy and connection to the earth and plants of all kinds.  My father was the scientist who helped us understand the science of the genetics and growth of the plants and the biology of the environment around their growth.  Their teachings have informed everything I do and how I teach my clients to connect to their own gardens.

Both of my grandmothers inspired me to garden.  Some of my fondest childhood memories of visiting my maternal grandmother are running into her garden first thing to smell the bulbs, annuals, and roses.  She always had something to feast your eyes on and lived on an orange grove; how lucky can you get?  My paternal grandmother grew vegetables and knew their nutritional and health benefits.  She also had the sweetest Babcock peach tree and amazing hydrengas.  Today, I grow many of the same plants that graced my grandmother's gardens, and hope to pass this legacy down to my children.