Trust Me, I'm a Horticulturist

How I got to where I am.

Back in '94, my husband Scott had decided to change his coursework at Chemeketa Community College (CCC) yet again. He started off in '88 taking classes in welding, communication, whatever he could pick up towards his training as a millwright (someone who keeps the plant machinery functioning.) After crushing his heels and ankles in an industrial accident, he changed tack to mathematics. When he took all the math offered at CCC, he started writing classes, he was going to become an author. And that is when I got a little upset. We had a deal that when he was finished with school, it would be my turn. He had now been taking classes for over six years and was not ready to transfer to a university. (He had taken 2.5 years at Linfield College before we were married.)
I announced I was going back to school. I knew I wanted to work with plants, as I had been an avid gardener since I was a child. I loved growing flowers, working in the soil, harvesting fruits and veggies, cooking same. As a teen I worked for a local farmer summers.
So I enrolled at CCC taking classes in Botany, Math, and whatever else was needed to transfer to a university. I honestly was interested in Landscape Architecture but the 90 min (one way) commute to Eugene, University of Oregon was just too much with a teen still at home. I investigated Landscape Maintenance at Benton Community College but I didn't want to be working outdoors in the weather all the time. So, I decided on the Horticulture program at Oregon State University. They had a Landscape Architect/Engineer teaching design, a world-renowned turf expert, and they would not only accept my CCC transfer classes but many of my 25 year old classes from University of Oregon.
I graduated in '98 with a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture: Turf and Landscape Management. And my first job was teaching Turf Maintenance at CCC! Full circle.

I have experience in gardening in the mid-Willamette Valley, Oregon. (That's where most of the grass seed in the world is grown.) I have been an organic food gardener for nearly 40 years. I do know how to use petro-chemicals as well, but am very allergic to many of them. Oh, I am allergic to pollen as well, yeah I know.

That's enough for an introduction. Hope you enjoy this blog.

By the way, Scott transfered to Western Oregon University and graduated with a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies: Mathematics and English.