I wasn’t born with a green thumb. 
Feel better already?

I didn’t grow up on a farm, and my family didn’t have a vegetable garden. Canning tomato sauce or pickling cucumbers? That came much later.

My first real exposure to gardening came from my mom. As a mother of five, she barely had a moment to herself. The house was always full of energy, so her love for gardening often had to wait.

But a true gardener always finds a way. After we were all tucked in for the night, Mom would grab her car keys and gardening tools and head outside into the dark. She'd park the car so the headlights lit up her garden bed. There, in the quiet night, she’d weed and tend to her plants. It wasn’t ideal—but it worked.

And it planted a seed in me, too.

But it took nearly forty years and a move to Kodiak Island, Alaska, for that seed to sprout.

One day, I was standing on the stern of a tugboat where I worked, and I asked myself, “So, Marion, what do you want to do with the rest of your life?”

Two words came to me, loud and clear—like someone was talking to me:


Photography and gardening.

Never mind that the only thing I’d ever grown was a sunflower in a milk carton back in third grade.

Today, gardening is the heart of what I do. My mission is simple: to use my knowledge, enthusiasm, and creativity to inspire people to connect with nature and live longer, happier lives.

That’s the spirit behind the videos, courses, and newsletters I create for gardeners around the world. It’s also what fuels my four favorite obsessions:

1. Building houses for bumblebees
2. Making compost
3. Figuring out what plants really need
4. Helping fellow gardeners

I grow a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruiting shrubs. I enjoy finding creative ways to extend the growing season and coming up with practical methods to keep gardening enjoyable and manageable as I get older.

If you enjoy creative, organic gardening, I look forward to having you along for the ride.

Keep your hands in the dirt and your eyes on the stars...