Kismet, Fate and How My Love of Gardening Changed My Life
I’m going to be sharing a lot of gardening and plant ideas here, so I wanted to give you a little background on how my love of gardening led me to this newest venture.
Most people know me through my work as a magazine story producer and photo stylist. But what most people don’t know is that I was “discovered” by magazine editors through my love of gardening.
Here’s how that happened.
I started gardening when I bought a little cottage in Old Chatham, NY in the early 1990s. As a “city girl” in the country, the whole outdoor gardening thing was quite new to me. But I started slowly, first with annuals and then herbs and vegetables. My newfound love of gardening – and my gardening confidence – grew with each little success. So I soon ventured into growing David Austin garden roses and unusual perennials.
But my big gardening move was IvyVine Topiaries.
In 1996, I opened my little garden shop in downtown Saratoga Springs, NY. I sold beautiful planters and urns, garden ornaments, garden-inspired art, architectural elements, and lots of living things (including, of course, topiaries).
I modeled my 350-square-foot shop after an English garden conservatory – painting the cement floors with a faux-bronze stone finish, and furnishing the shop with garden antiques.
After opening my shop, I sent press releases to several national magazines, and vignettes from my shop were then featured in Country Living and Family Circle magazines (shown below).
So, you might be wondering: How did I go from owning a garden shop to producing magazine stories to now creating Home Styling Works®? It all started with a one-page story in Country Home magazine.
This is where kismet stepped in.
kismet: when you encounter something by chance that seems like it was mean to be, then it could be kismet, your destiny.
The topiary shown in the Country Home article above was shipped overnight from my shop to the Meredith Publishing headquarters in Des Moines, IA, where they shot it for a front-of-magazine piece. As luck would have it, an editor was carrying that very topiary to the photo shoot when a book editor happened to walk by. That book editor was Linda Hallam, who was working on her Garden Style book series and asked for my contact information. Lo and behold, she called me and we hit it off immediately.
At that time, I was in the process of looking for a new location for my shop, as my lease had expired and the building was being turned into offices. I couldn’t seem to find the right location, so after I moved all of my inventory into my basement (temporarily, I thought), Linda asked me if I was interested in producing a few projects for her follow-up book called Garden Style Projects. Can I say YES in ten languages??
I immediately began brainstorming and created six project stories that we ended up shooting at my home in 1999, with the fab photographer Gordon Beall and stylist Heather Lobdell flying in from Washington, DC.
Here are a few of the garden stories from the book (I didn’t produce the cover, though – the covers would come much later!)
That photo shoot started it all. I remember looking through the camera at the shot we set up and thought: “This is it. THIS does it for me.” It was a magical moment, to feel that sure of something. After my light bulb moment, it became clear to me that I could be much more creative in my gardening endeavors by producing and styling photo shoots, rather than being confined to a retail shop.
When Garden Style Projects was released, Linda Hallam (who would become my professional mentor) kindly spread the word amongst her magazine editor colleagues. In no time, several editors asked me for proposals and locations that I would later style and produce. (Sadly, Linda passed away in 2011, but she left an indelible mark and I am forever grateful for the opportunity she gave me).
Over the years, I produced many garden stories (both in my own gardens, and in other people’s gardens). Here are a few favorites:
My own courtyard garden was also featured in Better Homes & Gardens Cottage Style magazine, photographed by the talented John Bessler.
In 2000, I branched out and began producing and styling interior and food photo shoots, in addition to gardens. And, of course, in 2021, I began my newest venture, Home Styling Works®, where I’m sharing my experience about all things gardening, interior styling and food in one place!
I guess the takeaway from my story is that on the way to what you’ve planned, something even better comes along. So try to keep your wingspan (and your mind) open to kismet, fate and unplanned opportunities.