Autobiography of a Gardener
What? There are leaves in this picture. See, right there at the bottom.
My name is Andrew Keys.
I am here to talk about plants.
Who am I? I’m a writer, designer, and lifelong gardener, host and producer of a podcast and column called Garden Confidential at Fine Gardening (formerly RadioGarden at Horticulture Magazine), and I’m in the process of wrapping up a book from Timber Press that’s due out in Fall 2012. At my “Clark Kent” job, I work as the web producer for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Descended from Mississippi cotton farmers, I was raised with a reverence for the land passed down generations, and first fell in love with plants among thickets of Aralia spinosa in the woods of my childhood home. I’ve written for Fine Gardening as well, I’m a member of the Garden Designers Roundtable, and I’ve lectured for the New England Wild Flower Society. My company, Oakleaf Green, is centered on the philosophy that the crux of every 21st century design problem is our role as stewards of the Earth, and I’m also a Northeast Organic Farming Association-accredited organic landcare professional.
What is Garden Smackdown? In this context, don’t take “garden smackdown” to mean I’ll be berating gardens, because I won’t. Think of it more in the sense that I’ll be getting to the bottom of things. I intend to smack down our wonderings about the plants featured here and the need for inspiration we crave. As of 2011, I’m also smacking down my musings on design, travel, and lifestyle topics.
I like to think of “smackdown,” too, as a smorgasbord, a mashup, and this here blog will be just that — a place to talk about plants, because yes, I like to talk about plants more than anything — but plants vs. music vs. lifestyle vs. anything else that inspires me. In that sense, this is very much a personal blog, and maybe you’ll see a window into me and what I’m about along the way. Regardless, I hope you’ll be inspired too.
Disclaimer: please take any advice and information you read here as one man’s perspective, not the final word. I write about what I like (or don’t like) based on my own experience and research, but I’m by no means king of the world, and would never have you believe I was.
My company, Oakleaf Green, is in transition while I work on my book.
About the site: I’ve been a web and graphic designer, professionally and in my spare time, for over 10 years now. In building this site and Oakleaf Green’s site, I’ve attempted to push the limits of my imagination, creative and technical capacity. I hope you’ll enjoy them and, of course, recommend them to others.
