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Lincoln Park Conservatory

I meant to finish this up and post it around February, but I've been busy with life! Finally, here's the post about my visit to LP...

about


Efflorescency means the state or quality of being efflorescent; efflorescence. 
Efflorescence means "to blossom out" (en Français); 
the state or a period of flowering; 
an example or result of growth and development. 
This is what our lives are. 

I am blossoming as a mother, a wife, and a human being. 
My husband is flowering into the person he never thought he could be. 
Our children are growing, with all of our love and hope and tenderness nourishing them.

~~~

When I started this blog in 2014, I wanted to document my family's daily life. I hoped that this blog would be a successful homemaker blog, documenting the day-to-day craziness in my personal life -- something many people can relate to. I aspired to be Wondermom, with chic fashion advice, delicious recipes, and witty anecdotes.

After some time I realised I was only writing posts about nature. If you scroll through the archives, you can see how I evolved from having a general curiosity about plants, to being a full blown nature nerd. I found passion in hiking with my husband, and enjoyed bonding with my children in gardens.

Eventually, I started volunteering to remove invasives from local area forest preserves, and practically lived out of botanical gardens. I networked with like-minded people on social media, and joined communities dedicated to the world of botany. 

I had an epiphany: Not only could I pursue my botanical passions, but I could also encourage others to learn about and appreciate nature! I could raise my children to be part of the next generation of plant enthusiasts, botanists, horticulturists, and conservationists. 

This blog is my love letter to my wonderful children & sweet husband, plants, and the world.

~~~

Who am I?




Hi, I'm Ashley! 

I'm a plant nerd. A plerd, if you will.

Above on the left is me circa 2004, creeping through my mother's garden. 
 To the right is a more recent(ish) photo; I still creep around plants.

I call Illinois home, but I was born in Guam and I've moved around quite a bit in my life.

Many people ask if I work at any of the gardens I frequent; I don't! 
I'm so passionate about plants that I'll show up at a garden several times a month.
I also volunteer with local area groups, doing environmental restoration work. 
That usually means I'm annihilating some invasive plants, but that also means 
collecting and planting native seeds, or cleaning up refuse from natural areas.

In November 2017 I joined the Board of Directors for Garden of Eatin'-Kenosha along with my husband, and in Spring 2018 I became the Moose Garden co-manager with a fellow board member, Brandi, until it was closed due to the land being sold by the Moose Lodge. I run the Twitter and Instagram for GoE, and contribute to Facebook posts.

I enjoy hiking, exploring, and botanising -- preferably all at once.

I'm married, and have two kids (6 kids if you count the cats). 


That's my husband, Steve. We started dating in 2013, and got married in 2014.
I am absolutely head over heels in love with him, and have been since day one.
He puts up with my excessive plant obsession. He's an amazing husband!






 

I try to involve general nature activities in our kids' lives year-round. They're to the point of running away screaming when I mention we're going to look at plants, but sometimes they like it. 



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