About Me

I am an avid outdoor vegetable and flower gardener. I have a relatively small suburban yard in Natick. I dabbled in a few houseplants until about 8 years ago when I joined the Buxton Branch of the American Begonia Society(ABS). This diverse genus of plants, not native to North America, quickly became another plant passion that satisfies my need to garden year-round. I am an ABS certified begonia judge and was recently named ABS Judging Co-Chair. I have judged begonia sections at the Philadelphia and Boston Flower shows and am a student judge for the Gesneriad Society. I have also volunteered at the Lyman Estate Greenhouses. I started growing dahlias 10 years ago. Today I am a member of the American Dahlia Society (ADS), Rhode Island, Connecticut and New England Dahlia Societies. I am an ADS candidate judge. I recently retired from 35+ years of teaching clinical microbiology at several Boston area colleges and universities.