ABOUT
Linda Nelson
My love of gardening and respect for nature started with my grandmother, tending the vegetable garden and gathering seeds from her flower beds. My favorite activity was saving “touch-me-not” seeds. She taught me patience and how to wait for just the right time for the seed pods to “pop” to collect the seeds.
Every house I lived in throughout my childhood had woods behind the house or close by. I always wondered why my parents let me wander alone in the woods behind our house when I was 5 and 6 years old. But a ride by that house a few years ago brought the realization that those “woods” I remembered were actually a very small, wooded area, so Mom could probably see me the whole time from the kitchen window!
Gardening has been an off-and-on hobby for me over the years. In fact, during my 20s, my ex-husband and I owned a greenhouse business and sold plants to the local stores of a major grocery chain, including poinsettias we grew in our greenhouse. However, my career took a different turn.
After a 40-year career in radiology management and healthcare technology, I began my horticulture career at Central Piedmont Community College in 2019 and graduated in December 2022 with an Associate of Science Degree in Horticulture and a Certificate in Landscape Design. In addition, I earned a Certificate of Native Plant Studies from UNCC Botanical Garden and a Pollinator Steward Certification from the Pollinator Partnership. I learned practical experience in gardening for wildlife when I managed the SEED Wildlife & Children’s Garden (a native plant garden) at Wing Haven House & Gardens in 2022. Now, I am an Adjunct Instructor for Landscape Design at Central Piedmont Community College Horticulture Department. In 2023, I started the Charlotte Piedmont chapter of Wild Ones, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting native plants in the landscape. I still serve as President with a fabulous Board of Directors.
From Healthcare to Horticulture – that is a big change! Through the last six years, through books, webinars, conferences, and connections, I have immersed myself in the topic of gardening for wildlife and have learned the importance of native plants to wildlife and biodiversity preservation. This is the reason for starting Bee Good Garden Design – to advocate for growing natives in our landscapes, to educate others, to consult with clients on how to get started or take the next steps, and to design gardens to benefit our wildlife.
