"That is all very well, little Alice, " says my aunt, "but there is a third thing you must do." 

"What is that?" I ask.

"You must do something to make the world more beautiful."

"All right," I say.

            from Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

We are committed to growing high quality flowers in a sustainable way.  The flowers are grown without the use of chemicals and careful attention is given to feeding the soil.  The earth, as abundant in food and beauty as it is, deserves no less.

 Mary Jo

the flowers

- Mary Jo Swartzendruber

I’ve loved growing and caring for living things since I was a small child growing up in rural Iowa.  I have been growing and designing flowers near Harrisonburg, Virginia, since I moved here in January 2005.  

I enjoy designing bouquets just as much as I love working in the gardens – starting the seeds under grow lights, designing beds, planting transplants into fertile soils, mulching and weeding, tending and nurturing.

And when I’m not working with flowers or in the gardens, you might find me at the Massanutten Regional Library where I also work part-time as a children’s librarian.