The reason I am passionate about perennials.
I have no background in farming, agriculture, or botany. I was not raised on a farm and have never worked on a farm full time. In my younger years I had a dream of becoming a Michelin rated chef and had a huge passion for food. My chef hero was Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. What attracted me to him was his leadership in the kitchen and the fact that he had a full market style garden across the street from his restaurant where he sourced ALL of his produce for his daily service. I fell in lobe with this concept and kept in my mind all the time. I was so impressed listening to him talk about how he trains his chefs and how much he cares for the food he uses. This amount of care for food was a trend between all the chefs I looked up to. So of course, I wanted to work with the best of the best chefs in the world and was gung ho on making my dream come true. Unfortunately this dream never came to fruition. But I did hold my passion for quality local fresh food close to my heart.
After doing what I was told and finishing my International Business degree I realized I had to move on from becoming a chef in the capacity I dreamt of. My heart was broken and I had no idea what I wanted to do. So naturally I ended up in Real Estate. Lol.
After a about 5 years and some success I was burnt out and unhappy with what I was doing. I never had any desire to be a residential realtor. So I decided to take a break and travel. I traveled up and down the east coast of the US. I did all kinds of amazing things and was hungry for knowledge and open minded on what my next chapter will entail.
So on my way back down from the North East I ended up deep win the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. I was cut off from any internet or phone and surrounded by trees and people Ive never met before. It was here I found myself and decided to commit my life to learning about how to read and work on landscapes in way in which will provide for not just me but my community and not just for today but for generations. I was on cloud nine the entire two weeks. Sleeping in an open pagoda with the elements raw invigorated me and transformed me into someone I never knew I was.
In this course, a Permaculture Design Course, I leaned how to read landscapes by listening to the land and intertwining our needs with mother natures. I learned how to read maps and plants to make decisions on how to adapt our needs with the landscapes with intention.
This style of land stewardship is called Permaculture and I knew this is what I wanted to commit the rest of my life to. I became dedicated to learning from the best of the best as I wanted to in my younger years. I have now completed over 3 permaculture design courses from some of the top permaculturists today. Each course is two weeks and requires us to complete a permaculture design to graduate from the course. It is truly an amazing experience and empowering opportunity to meet like minded people from all walks of like of all ages.
I couldn't stop there I also had to see these systmes in action. So I traveled. I traveled to Australia, Costa Rica, and across the US to learn and experience these powerful perennial systems. I was armed with knowledge, connections, and experience to share with as many people as I can. All the while of these past half a decade I was working, helping people design and transform their properties into amazing perennial systems.
From these past five years I have decided to change my business model from an eco-landscaper to an educator. I want to teach and reach as many people as I can and share my knowledge of how to use perennial pants and animals to improve landscapes and provide for us today and into the future for generations.