I do Plantscapes, with emphasis on edible and floral gardens, grown as an art for function and beauty.
I was born in Santa Barbara at Cottage Hospital into a green thumb family, with my family farming in Fresno and her maternal Grandmother in Lompoc putting me to work in the garden as one of my earliest memories. A move to Berkeley in 1988 brought me into the fold of the Gourmet Ghetto, by living in an apartment right in the middle of it. Those times were spent drinking the last splashes of wines from Chez Panisse at closing time and hosting several Friday Night Herb and Garlic dinners with friends.
Years later, I moved back to Santa Barbara, where I worked at the Express Way Cafe and Downey’s as a server, while going to Santa Barbara City College to the Environmental Horticulture program under the tutelage of Jerry Sortomme where I became interested in growing food and flowers. My earliest venture into the world of flowers was selling roses and lilies to diners at the Ventura Harbor Village and pruning roses part time for the City of Santa Barbara at the Postel Memorial Rose and was a waitress at Downeys, a Zagat rated restaurant. I worked at Jaffurs Wines after helping with the “crush” and attended many wine related events. I worked at Healing Grounds nursery where I supervised a small crew to produce organic plant starts sold to local nurseries and is developing my own line of plants.
I am an active volunteer in places I like: Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the Santa Barbara Horticultural Society, the Garden Manager for Trinity Gardens and write a twice year “Edible Garden” column for the Ventura Botanical Gardens.
I’m inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and grow many of the plant varieties he did.
I will be writing about my work as it goes.
Delicious Gardens by Rose 