I am a home gardener and amateur plant breeder. My day job has nothing to do with plants or horticulture, so the plant stuff is for fun. I am very much into native plants of the northeast, pollinators, and am also obsessed with birds. I have been slowly converting part of my backyard to a micro prairie. I have been into this stuff since I was a kid.

Most of the plants in the micro prairie have been grown from seed. I also propagate plants from cuttings, although growing from seed for genetic diversity is my preferred method.

I noticed more gardeners are becoming interested in native plants and I'm in a Facebook group with other native plant gardeners. In 2023 I was able to share a surplus of plant starts to home gardeners and some conservation organizations. My 2024 goal is to have even more plant starts to share, with a focus on lesser known/threatened plants in NJ. There must be over 50 milk jugs right now, I've honestly lost track. I unfortunately don't have much time right now to get out with organizations and help remove invasive species etc, but I can grow things from seed pretty easily.

I try to get outside to check out nature when I can. New Jersey is a densely populated state and right now I'm seeing a lot of construction going on for development and warehouses. My other 2024 goal once the weather gets warmer is to check out more areas for plants and other critters and document them, especially if there is a risk for habitat loss. I've noticed that some species considered threatened or endangered that I've been raising at home are actually pretty hardy. It seems they're rare mainly due to habitat loss.

I'm mostly into the plants, but I'll photograph any other interesting critters that I find. I hope to do my part in conservation, learn more about plants, birds, and other wildlife, and helping the environment one yard at a time.