I’ve always loved flowers—rooted in California’s ag-rich Central Valley, I've grown flowers as long as I can remember. In college I tagged along on my big brother’s botany field trips and fell hard for plant science. I later went to grad school and worked as an isotope geochemist with the NNSA at LLNL, but flower gardening followed me everywhere. During the pandemic, Thomas and I doubled down on gardening; a job transfer took us to the Dallas area, where we officially started Elm Creek Flower Farm on a few acres with a small U-Pick. Texas was good to us (it’s Thomas’s home), but I missed home and California’s “grow anything” climate and long growing season. After two years we came home and started fresh — us, my mom, and our two boys. What makes us different is the science behind everything we do: I lean on my research mindset to choose varieties, refine care, and write clear, practical guides so you can grow with confidence.