| Greetings, and welcome to Hillside Gardens on-line. I am Carol Jean Lamphier, lover of flowers, Gardiner, mother of four, grandmother of seven and wife of 44 years to my business partner, best friend and chief grounds keeper Michael Lamphier. I’d like to share with you a little about why and how Hillside Gardens came to be, and my ultimate goal to deliver beautiful flowers and education… to you! My passion for flowers, plants and all things beautiful growing from our earth has been part of me for as long as I can remember. I was born into agriculture. At four-years-old and living with my grandparents, Jim and Mary Hancock, I was already part of three generations of farmers tilling and working the soil in Northeastern Montana . My family produced successful, healthy crops for thousands of people across our country. I attended Northern Montana College in hopes to teach Montana ’s young. I taught and more importantly, encouraged, elementary children to love to read. It is the love of growing things and educating that led me to Hillside Gardens . I grow flowers and share with people what I have learned over the years about growing plants. My education encompasses, reading horticulture books and magazines, doing computer research, attending horticulture workshops and trial and error! We will never know if we can grow something… until we try. My goal with the Hillside Gardens website, is to pass along to you what I have learned about: what deer don’t care to eat, when and what to plant in your area, new plants I have raised from seed, and helping you make successful compost and how to use it. We garden in sandy soil, but feeding, composting, mulching and appropriate watering can make us all successful gardeners. This and much more… I would like to share with you! |