IN THE BEGINNING
I am descended from a long line of Women Who Garden.  Some of my earliest memories are of tagging along behind my Mom as she tended her beloved roses (Mom still grows roses, and she's always been my Rose Queen).  I recall that my Grandmother had lots of lovely potted plants on her balcony in her apartment home. My memory of my Great-Grandmother is of her & her lovely, shady, lush backyard, complete with a pond.  And she had tons of plants in her house!  Great-Grandma really opened my eyes to the possibilities of gardening with all of it's varied complexities, microclimates, mysteries, etc.  I was about 6 or 7 when this happened. 

When I was little, I used to read the Sunset Western Garden Book for fun, and tried to imagine what the plants actually looked like.  Since Sunset often suggests plant combinations, I would picture the combinations in my mind.  Soon I began to think up my own combinations.  By the time I was 10, I was actually making plan drawings of imaginary gardens, and soon progressed to making drawings for our home.  I tried my best to follow the guidelines of grouping plants by climate needs, color coordination, height compatibility, bloom sequence, etc.  My mother was so impressed she planted several of the gardens I designed. 

ENTERING THE PROFESSION
It wasn't until I was a senior in high school when I first heard the term "Landscape Architect".  I was thrilled beyond belief that there was a profession doing the very thing that brought me the most joy!  But as it turned out, my entrance into college was delayed another seven years due to financial considerations.  In 1987 I decided to finally get serious about becoming a Landscape Architect. I enrolled in night school at the University of California, Irvine Extension, studying Landscape Architecture.

The UCI Extension Landscape Architecture program was a 5 or 5^1/2 year-long night-school commitment (depending on how many courses you took each quarter). The instructors were all working professionals in the field. The program was designed to be Landscape Architecture-only core courses, and was very challenging, broad-based, and fulfilling. Subjects ranged from design theory & practical application, the history of Landscape Architecture, construction methods & techniques, business management, grading & drainage, irrigation, plant identification & use, drafting & visual communication, and on & on & on... Quite exhausting, I must say! While attending UCI I was the student representative to the local chapter of ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects), as well as the President of the loosely-organized student body. I'm pleased to share with you that I competed for and won a scholarship based on my talents & scholastic achievements. Sadly, although the Landscape Architecture program at UCI was dynamic and exciting, it has since been discontinued.

After six months of night school, I took my classwork and managed to talk my way into an apprenticeship at a large Landscape Architectural office. After two years I left that firm and took a position as a Project Manager at a small Landscape Architectural firm. All the while I was continuing my education at UCI. This was an incredibly stressful time, as I would normally work 50 - 60 hours a week (sometimes more!), plus attend night classes, plus complete about 20 hours of homework each week, plus do landscape design and other odd jobs on the side. Entry salaries in the landscape industry don't pay very much, so I had to do as much moonlighting as I could to pay the rent!

EARLY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
When I worked in Landscape Architectural offices I worked on all types of projects:  large scale housing developments, high-end residences, model homes, shopping centers, street scapes, parks, office buildings, freeway landscapes - you name it!  It is truly fascinating to see how any project gets built, from obtaining funding to the bidding process to concept meetings to working with other trades to construction drawings to finished project.

For my own clients, I focused on residential only.   My main method of obtaining clients was from working with a local nursery. I showed them my portfolio so they knew I was legitimate, then they handed out my business cards to folks inquiring about design services.  I got all the work I could handle this way, and had to turn some down!  Also, I had many licensed aquaintances in the business (I love to network, you see!) who had their own practices, but were too busy to do all their own work.  So, I would do their work, but to their customer it seemed the person they hired did the work (oh, moonlighting!). 

During this time I attended many wonderful meetings, lectures and workshops with noted professionals in the field of Landscape Architecture, such as Roberto Berle Marx, Fred Lang, Ian McHarg, to name just a few.

SCARY TIMES
In the early 1990's the economy in Southern California went into a recession. To my horror, I was caught up in the job-cutting, and since most folks couldn't afford to do their landscapes at that time anyway, I decided to do whatever was necessary to pay my rent & keep food on the table. At this point in my career I transitioned to a Marketing Director position for a start-up environmental consulting firm. I was able to keep working on landscape designs, plus was involved with coordinating large-scale landscape projects, such as a pilot program by Southern California Edison to landscape for power conservation, plus was able to work with various city officials in planning their city-wide landscape concepts. But eventually the recession caught up to my firm. So, I had to make the gut-wrenching decision to leave the profession & take a decent-paying administrative job. It was a real blow to my ego, but hey! A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!

So, during most of the 90's I was officially out of the professional landscape industry, although I still kept my skills up by doing occasional jobs for friends & family, plus staying current with trade magazines. In the meantime I caught the high-tech wave and learned all I could about computers & software. I spent a lot of time teaching myself various software programs, and in the process developed permanent tendonitis. OUCH! I could no longer hold a pen or pencil, brush my hair, or use my right hand as anything other than a brace. It was YEARS before I was able to regain partial use of my hand! It was very difficult to accept that I would never again be able to practice landscape architecture/design as I once had, because I could no longer use my hand to draw. I began a quest to find a decent software program that would allow me to draw on a computer. (To learn more about my search for a computer program, click here)

This time was not all bad, though! To my delight, I met my husband at one of the offices I was temping in. Just think - a one-day temp job turned into a wonderful marriage with the man of my dreams. Who says office romances are always trouble? Not me!!!

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!
So, there I was, unhappily out of my profession but happily married. Eventually we bought a house, and as we went from room to room, sharing our hopes & dreams for each room, my husband shared that he wanted me to turn the spare bedroom into a home office so I could return to landscape design. If that wasn't a "I married the right man!" moment, I don't know what is! It took a couple of years, but eventually by 1999 I was able to quit my corporate job & return to landscape design full-time.

I now have a complete professional home office. I have real office furniture - a matching desk, bookcases, file cabinets, and fancy desk chair. I have a business phone, fax, printer, computer, scanner - the whole enchilada! In November 2000 I was able to study under noted English Landscape Designer John Brookes during a 3-day workshop he conducted. But best of all, I have clients who provide me with wonderful opportunities to design landscapes for a living. I cherish my clients, and am so thrilled that each one affords a new design direction, a different style of landscaping, a different perspective on expressing personality & dreams via plants and hardscape.