Hi & welcome. 
I’m a Seattlite with a passion for gardening. I’m a professional landscape designer and garden consultant (aka garden coach or garden mentor). I have a passion for teaching interested people of all gardening skill levels how to become more active and successful in their gardens. I do this through my Seattle, Washington landscape design and garden coaching company Garden Mentors.
As well, I am an enthusiastic yogi. I started my practice at a time when I had very little strength and flexibility. I had a lot of stress that I didn’t know how to manage, and I abhorred exercise (except for gardening!). The final straw that pushed me into a regular exercise program came a few years ago when I was on vacation on Maui. One day while visiting the island, took a walk into Haleakala, down Sliding Sands trail. I had a pretty intense spiritual experience & set a goal to go back on my next visit. I knew I had some unfinished business in that place. I also recognized that in order to follow this vision quest (or whatever you want to call it), I would need to improve my health. Within a week of returning to Seattle, I started taking yoga.
When I began my regular practice, it was tough. I couldn’t bend over and touch my toes. Actually, I could barely reach my knees. I didn’t sit up straight or have any core. I continued with beginner classes & every workshop I could manage & some private lessons. Within a few months I was increasing my practice to try out more classes & more difficult classes.
Today I continue to attend classes at all different levels with as wide a variety of teachers as possible. From each I learn something new and something valuable. On a regular basis, I attend five classes a week. On occassion, I attend 8-9 classes a week. I listen to my body & give it what it needs.
Oh, and I did return to Haleakala. I did a 12 (or was it 14) mile hike through the crater with friends to celebrate my 40th birthday. We hiked into the crater starting with the descent into the crater from Sliding Sands & ending at the Holua cabin & hiked the rest of the way out thru Halemau’u the next day. (Check out the map. Amazing are the elevation changes, passing thru sand, lava rock, cobbles, switchbacks & barren landscapes.) Oh yeah, I carried a pack that was crappy but kept ice icy — a lifesaver for sore calves & cold cocktails at day’s end. At the end of the hikes, I was not winded. I was blissed out & in heaven. I put my yoga to use at the end of each day to stretch out my tired body and to meditate on this amazing place where its is said every soul will pass on its journey from this earth. I do plan to return again to this magical place.
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