I've been a gardener since I was a little girl. My Dad gave me a section of our yard to grow anything I wanted when I was a child. I planted hybrid roses. Needless to say, they didn't do that well. It only made me more determined to learn and succeed.
After graduating from high school, I attained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada. I then worked for Agriculture Canada doing plant and soil research until my first son was born.
When my children were small, I wanted to be at home with them so I started a 2 acre market garden. This allowed me to grow a lot of our own food (all organic) and earn some money by selling vegetables, herbs and flowers at the local farmer's market 3 days a week. I was also a member of various seed groups and would send flower, vegetable and herb seeds to growers all over Canada.
When my sons started school, I still grew vegetables and fruits for our own use, however entering the work force again did not leave any time for market gardening.
Now I am semi-retired and my focus is mainly on growing native Canadian flowers. I have a small vegetable garden as well.
As a biologist, I am concerned with the gradual decline of so many of our native plant and animal species. Growing native plants is an important step in the restoration of our natural environments and helps the population of our native wildlife flourish once more. It gives me great joy to sell seeds to gardeners all over Canada through my Larkwhistle Seeds shop.