Where it all began... 

My love and appreciation for landscapes started when I was a little girl making mud pies and topping them with juniper berries and leaves for decoration. I have always been creative and a lover of the land. I had artists elders and have been a self taught artist my entire life - enjoying the lands, the air, the animals, the art and beauty of it all. I was drawn to Cuyamaca College because of the landscape and surrounding wildness. There I began studies in Paralegal coursework where I then discovered the Ornamental Horticulture Department. I was enamored! I found my place. I quickly changed my major and signed up for all the Ornamental classes I could. Once there, I became an active member of the C.C.B.S (Cuyamaca College Botanical Society), serving first as a volunteer, then as Vice-President, and eventually as the 31st President. While attending classes, I worked as the Nursery Assistant Manager, Assistant Grower, and eventually the Manger of the Cuyamaca College Ornamental Horticulture Retail Nursery. After my internship was complete, I then worked for a commercial landscape and a smaller residential landscape contracting company for the past 18 years. These companies provided me extensive knowledge and experience,  in both commercial and residential landscape construction settings.