Introducing Laura Mathews - Northeast Garden Guru

I like to say that my love of gardening started when I noticed a bare patch of dirt. While moving into an apartment in college, I saw a vegetation-free triangle bordering my front door. That tiny area became my first garden. I knew nothing about gardening, when I first purchased plants to fill that space. Luckily, I got it right, I put sun annuals in a sunny spot.  I loved watching the little plants bloom throughout the summer. The fact that I was successful with that garden was one of the steps that led me to my career as a garden writer and photographer.

That experience did solidify a love of plants in me, but upon reflection, I see my love of gardening started as a child. As a young girl, I recall relishing deep red roses that grew on a fence in our front yard. I remember being very young and noticing the swell of an iris bud before it bloomed. To capture and preserve the purple color of violets, as young as six, I painted them with watercolors. As I grew, I began to search out new flowers to learn about. I was, and am, drawn to unique plants.

Even now, the thrill of great color, success in creating beauty, and the adventure of a new plant, keeps me heading out into the garden each day. I’m not the kind of gardener who plants the same things in the same way year after year. I change it up each year. Proven Winners^® helps me in this. Not only do their new plant introductions provide inspiration, but I can count on falling in love with them. And I can count on them to thrive in my garden. Great plants keep my love of gardening alive. I’m deeply grateful for that.

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