Greetings. I am the latest addition to the Reston Patch - discussing gardening advice, plants success and disaster stories, native beauty, bugs, pests and your plant queries (if you have any!)

I have a long history of loving plants - still remember my ninth-grade Biology field trip to a wooded park in the springtime when I admired ferns unfurling out of a rotting tree. My classmates hurried on right past but I could not get over the simple beauty of this little plant!

I was lucky enough to have grown up in a family of 6 kids who all mowed the lawn and made money mowing other's lawns. Little did I know that I was allergic to Timothy Grass at the time! I just thought I always had a cold when I was mowing! Needless to say, I don't mow any longer.

Went to Virginia Tech and studied Horticulture. Worked in the field of tropical plant design and maintenance in the Washington, DC, area for many years. Came back to my "roots" many years ago when I rented one of the Reston Association garden plots off of North Shore Drive. When we moved to The Other Side of Reston, I switched to the plots near the Hunters Woods Pool and have been there for over 18 years now. I have been the RA Coordinator between RA and the gardeners of this plot for nearly 10 years. As of last year, I also help the gardeners in the plot by the Reston Animal Hospital.

To enhance my enjoyment of plant life as an avocation and a community pastime, I started the process to become a Certified Master Gardener with the Virginia Cooperative Extension. I am in my second year (out of three) and am a Co-Chair of the Master Gardener Clinic at the Reston Farmers Market at Lake Anne.

Since my entire life does not involve plants, I live in South Reston with my family - husband and daughters (a senior at South Lakes High School, eighth grader at Langston Hughes Middle School and Sadie the dog. Have lived in the NoVa area for 80 percent of my life (won't say how old I really am!) so I know the area pretty well. Basically, I am nearly a "Native" myself!

Oh, if you are wondering, it is just fine to plant your tomatoes now!! No more frost is expected this May!

Looking forward to discussing plants and other gardening topics with you.