The mask I wore for years to filter out smells.

In my mid-40’s I fell ill with chemical sensitivities and could not do consulting work (my previous career) because I could not be around people and their smells (deodorant, shampoo). I had lots of fired up energy, so I started offering my friends to re-do their yards as a way to keep myself sane. Landscaping was already a pastime I had been doing for years to relax and switch gears from my people work. Gardening and designing helped me heal. It kept me focused on beauty and something I loved.

Friends suggested I start a landscaping business. I had already started other businesses, so I decided to give it a try and started my first landscaping company called Beauty Way and later called Eco-yards™. I had a notice in the Open for Business section of the Calgary Herald newspaper. People were attracted to my use of Feng Shui in design and I started getting clients.

One of my clients was involved with a group that was lobbying to phase out pesticide use in Calgary. She asked me to come to a meeting and I became involved, writing a website for the group Coalition for a Healthy Calgary that provided information on how to garden and landscape without pesticides. We used the web-site, and a media campaign I led, to get a bylaw initiated that would phase out cosmetic pesticide use on landscapes. We were successful. The Councillors who sponsored the Draft Bylaw later rescinded it in hopes of passing a more effective bylaw in the future.

I learned in research for the website the horrible effect on health and development, especially of children, of pesticide use. That solidified my commitment to organic methods. I also learned that most of the developed world had phased out cosmetic pesticide use, including in Canada. The prairie provinces were the hold outs. I learned that most of the world didn't have lawn predominant in their landscapes. These were all encouraging things to know.

The same client encouraged me to write a book based on the website and I did! I wrote and self -published Eco-yards™. A few years later it was re-published by New Society Publishing.

One winter, as I was wondering what more I could do for the state of the global environment, I went to a talk about compost tea. I learned that the soils of the world had lost so much organic matter through the use of chemicals and tilling. I also learned that making a liquid tea of concentrated soil micro-organisms was the fastest, easiest, least expensive way to restore soils. Within a few days, I had decided to pioneer offering a compost tea spray service for urban yards - something rarely done then - most compost tea had been used in agriculture.

I took courses in making compost tea and learning to use the microscope to evaluate the quality of microbes in compost and compost tea. I worked with experts across North America, and my Dad - a chemical engineer who had designed gas plants - to design the tea brewer equipment and the spray equipment. I tested 7 of the commercial compost sources in Calgary, tested my own worm compost and yard compost, and developed a compost mix that had the best variety and numbers of micro-organisms to make the tea.

In 2008, I was ready to launch the compost tea spray service at the Calgary Horticultural Society Garden Show. They asked me to do a display garden, as their theme was Sustainable Landscaping. Our display garden was a hit - people were lined up 4 deep to talk to me. My company really grew after that. The focus of my work became design and installation. I did more display gardens over the years. I still had a compost tea service and and am happy to report that many companies around the world now offer compost tea spray and many homeowners make it at home.

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With my landscaping crew, I kept experimenting with new and better ways to do sustainable landscaping. For example, pioneering using newspaper and cardboard to cover lawns, building rock rivers that help water soak into yards, using perforated flexible pipe under the soil to distribute water.

DURING INSTALLATION

After installation

I did many talks on sustainable landscaping in the Calgary area at the Calgary Public Library and for other public and private groups. I wanted to popularize these methods. Two of the talks were filmed, edited and posted on YouTube.

Teaching children about compost.

In 2021, I sold Eco-yards™ and took a few years away from directly landscaping. I needed some time to heal from health challenges and step away from the intensity of running a full-service landscaping company. I was able to heal with the help of some compassionate practitioners who offer effective and not well known treatments. I am still on my healing journey. On this website I offer resources and articles to share what I have learned about getting well. This is part of sustainability too, being able to sustain our own health and well-being.

In 2023, I started doing some landscape design work again and my passion for creating functional, beautiful, natural spaces for clients was rekindled. My latest frontier is using more native plants, especially low ground cover plants as living pathways and patios. I am also working with some of my native plant suppliers to develop a wild strawberry turf. I am keenly learning more about rainwater storage so that we can maximize rainwater storage for our clients in attractive and functional ways.

In 2024, I started Eco-Friendly Landscapes as a community of designers and contractors who work together to offer eco-friendly landscaping services.

I hope you've found this history inspirational and will connect with us to explore how we can work together to create a beautiful and sustainable yard for you.