Why plants and flowers?
I grew up in the horticulture industry. No, seriously! I am a 4th generation tree farmer. My great grandfather sold Christmas trees during the depression so he could afford to have presents for my grandmother and great aunt. My grandmother loved the dedication to his family and vowed to continue the tradition when she was able to do so. My grandfather and her bought ground and started growing their Christmas trees. My father is one of five children and took the most interest in the business… lucky for me! He purchased his own farm and started to grow his own trees while also doing landscape jobs of all shapes and sizes. My two sisters and I spent nights, weekends and all the time in between working various jobs on the farm. Some jobs were awesome, some were not so awesome. Throughout the days and years, however, we learned the value of hard work. Flash forward a few years to the time I needed to decide my future. Ornamental Horticulture was my future and I spent the next 3.5 glorious years studying (mostly!) and playing field hockey at Delaware Valley College. I met some of the very best friends and future colleagues there while having one heck of a good time! Upon graduation, I studied design at Hixon’s School of Floral Design in Cleveland, OH. Ten days later, I opened my own shop! Throughout the craziness of life, I started managing my father’s wholesale nursery while still creating fabulous wedding flowers.
I teach horticulture at Berks Career & Technology Center
My love of the industry and passion to encourage youth to enter this wonderful career field makes my days worthwhile. I have two amazingly beautiful, fun, witty, and energetic girls that love to help me and are my little tree nerdlets. They love anything outdoors; flowers, dirt, and plants are their toys. They explore all that Mother Nature has to offer.