About

Hi, I’m Rebecca. I created this blog to document my small suburban gardens in Long Island, NY (zone 7b – Ecoregion 59g Long Island Sound Coastal Lowland). I currently have a native pollinator garden in the front yard and an annual veggie garden in the back.

I’ve spent many years learning and tinkering in the garden, and I really enjoy teaching my daughter (and anybody who will listen!) about gardening and nature, which is another reason I created this blog: to let ordinary folks know that they, too, can garden, grow vegetables, become citizen wildlife conservationists, and learn about the natural world in the process. You don’t need an incredible amount of space or money or knowledge, and you don’t need to live out in the countryside- you just need to be willing to try, set realistic goals, and manage your expectations.

Those fancy shows and blogs about gardening are really wonderful, but they don’t always resonate with me because I don’t have lots of money or land to create the “perfect” garden. And as a busy mom, I don’t have much time to myself either to go out and purchase tools, materials (or the perfect garden outfit for Instagram), so for the most part I work with what I have. Also, there doesn’t seem to be much focus on creating native habitat for wildlife like bees, butterflies, birds, and other creatures in mainstream gardening media channels and I think that needs to change!

Gardening brings me so much joy and hope, and my biggest wish is to get people excited about gardening, especially young people in urban and suburban settings who are not usually exposed to this knowledge. I hope you will find this site useful and that we can learn and grow together.

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I received my BA in Communication and Culture from the CUNY School of Professional Studies; I earned a certificate in Landscape Design from the New York Institute of Art and Design; I sit on the board of ReWild Long Island, a leading environmental organization based in Port Washington, NY; I am involved with and deeply interested in environmental artivism (art + activism) and finally, I hold a Pollinator Champion Certification from Michigan State University. Get your free Pollinator Champion training here.