Rooted in Curiosity

Some of the best things in life take root when you least expect them.

I’ve loved nature for as long as I can remember, and I have gardened for decades. Still, I’ve always been eager to learn more.

In the summer of 2020, a friend mentioned she had enrolled in the Master Gardener program through Dalhousie University. I signed up too, not quite knowing what I was stepping into.

It quickly became something more than a course. It changed how I see.

That autumn, I began noticing details I had overlooked for years: the texture of bark, the structure of stems, the quiet complexity of soil. I wasn’t just seeing plants anymore. I was beginning to understand them.

Latin names became familiar. Soil health became fascinating. Pest cycles became something I could anticipate and respond to.

What began as curiosity was becoming something deeper.

In 2023, another conversation planted a new seed.

My friend Elizabeth and I saw the same gap. Here on the North Shore, there were both new and experienced gardeners, but no central place to share knowledge and local insight.

Over many cups of tea, we built North Shore Gardening Life.

It has since grown into a space where gardeners connect, learn, and share what they know.

Not long after, my path branched again.

I founded Bonnie Blooms as a natural extension of everything I had been learning and living.

It is also rooted in something more personal. My mother, Bonnie, had a deep love for nature. She noticed beauty in quiet ways. Bonnie Blooms carries that forward.

Every arrangement I create is shaped by how flowers grow, how they move, and how they are experienced. My focus is not just on how something looks, but how it feels to receive it and live with it.

The goal is simple: flowers that feel thoughtful, natural, and full of life.

Looking ahead, I hope to grow Bonnie Blooms into a place where people can gather, pick flowers, and experience a sense of beauty, calm, and connection.

The Master Gardener program was a catalyst.

It deepened my knowledge, introduced me to meaningful friendships, and set me on a path I am still following.

Like any garden, it began with something small.