Unearth the unique power gardens have to teach & heal without a green thumb.

Whatever kind of garden you need or the space you have, a therapeutic garden is right for your organization, regardless of budget or gardening skills.

  • Create a space that helps kids reset and return to learning.

  • Give kids a way to process intense feelings in a calm setting.

  • Gather your team around a common purpose that builds community.

Start with a
sensory garden

A sensory garden is a low lift way to start gardening at schools and other organizations.

This download will help you know what to plant.

Imagine…

Creating a garden that provides your organization with a place for peace and belonging.

Using the garden to model skills like kindness, connection, and nurturing.

Sharing your garden bounty and new garden knowledge to build self-confidence and community.

Sounds good except..

  • I am way too busy for one more thing.

  • I don’t have a green thumb.

  • No one else would be interested.

  • Don’t have money to start a garden.

Here’s what I know, if you can….

  • teach 25+ kids in a small room and show up the next day ready to go….

  • manage the administration's requests and the increasing emails and messages from concerned parents while not cussing anyone out…

  • coordinate with a handful of teachers to keep your students on track without loosing your collective minds…

You can advocate for a gardening program at your school, that will impact hundreds of students mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Hi Friend!

As a mother and public school employee, I know how we can mentally and emotionally support our kids while adding “soft skills” to their education.

If you want someone in your corner, welcoming and ready to listen, offer advice on advocating for a school garden, or you need an answer to a pressing garden question, I am here.

As one of the caretakers of our school garden and library assistant, I am walking the same path you are. I am happy to share my knowledge if I am a few steps ahead. If you are a few steps ahead of me, I would love to talk to compare notes and make it easier to create more therapeutic school gardens.

As a master gardener, educator, community builder, and a Martha/JoAnna devotee with tattoos, I have a unique style and point of view. I bring that to you through my unconventional and conventional ways of teaching our kids, creating community, and great gardening advice.

Welcome back to school or maybe you never left!

If you are an educator right now you know how different school life is from when you went. Whether you have been out of school for 4 years or 40 it doesn’t look the same.

The world as a whole doesn’t look the same and we need an outside the classroom solution to fix it.

Besides helping you start a school garden, you will find helpful tips on …

Using Garden Metaphors

The garden is ripe with examples that can demonstrate common challenges we face throughout our lives. Don’t worry about coming up with them yourself. I have dug deep to uncover them.

Hosting Meetings & Events

A lifetime of Martha Stewart subscription and studying event planning in college has taught me more than a few things about party and event planning. My focus is on events and meetings that connect people and create results not drama.

Building relationships in a community

I am an introvert who craves meaningful relationships as much as I want quiet time in my garden. I focus my energy on finding people with similar interests who might just turn into friends. Gardening is a great way to do just that.

We go together like Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan if you…

  • believe we should lift people up instead of tearing them down or leaving them behind

  • would rather be outdoors & love gardening or want to learn how to garden

  • want to work on positive ways to affect the world your kids are growing up in

  • weren’t surprised to hear about the loneliness epidemic since you have experienced it firsthand

  • think the best way to spread Christmas cheer is to sing it loud for all to hear

  • love Yogi tea for the inspirational quotes as much as you love the calming tea blends

Ready for an inventive way to help your students thrive at school and beyond? Here are some ways we can work together to accomplish that.

  • Grow it Forward Garden course

    This course will allow your school to build and plant a simple cut flower garden without reading five more gardening books or understanding a whole new vocabulary. Once your garden grows, you will learn how to create simple bouquets and lessons to share with students to help them learn and thrive.

  • Grow it Forward garden club

    Want to start a therapeutic or community garden at your school or have one and want to help others get started?

    Join the Grow It Forward Garden Club, where we learn and share so we can all succeed!

  • Garden Consulting & Speaking

    If you need help building a school garden program, I am available for individual coaching or consultation with your organization.

    I am also available to speak at conferences in person or virtually about the effects therapeutic gardening can have on children.