My Story
I fell in love with plants one morning when my father took me with him on a job he had rewiring a local greenhouse. As the amazing fragrance of Easter Lilies descended upon four year old me I was hooked, and have been growing things and studying gardening ever since.
I am convinced, through much trial and error that organic growing is better for the planet, and grows higher quality plants. I know that in my experience, plants grown organically have far less problems with insects and diseases. Working with nature, instead of against her makes lazy garden living easy!
My Career
Since that day in the greenhouse I have had a multitude of growing experiences. I started growing gardens in Massachusetts, where I grew up, then studied Botany at the University of Massachusetts. When I moved to the West Coast I continued to garden. I got a job in a commercial greenhouse in the Lower Mainland. I obtained a certificate in Floral Design from Kwantlen College. I moved to the Ucluelet and was fascinated by the edible plants and medicinal herbs that grew in abundance there. I studied herbal medicine, and it became the "go to" for myself and my family.
I purchased a seven acre chunk of the West Coast of Vancouver Island, and started a market garden. I sold baby salad greens to the restaurants in Ucluelet, way before they were a thing in the store.I continued to grow lots of food. I raised over a hundred chickens, and rotated their pasture with my garden. After a stint at commercial fishing, I returned to school to study Greenhouse Horticulture Technology. I started working for Malaspina College as a work study, then a summer student. A year later I was hired as the Horticulture Program's first technician, and also started teaching. It was a wonderful career, with lots of hands on experience managing a commercial type greenhouse operation by organizing student activities in the greenhouse and the plant nursery that we built.
By 2008, after twenty years at the college I was ready for something new and retired to form my own company, Gardens on the Go, to provide Organic Horticulture training and services. Thoughout my career there was never any question that growing organic was the way to grow, and I wanted to spread the word. It seems there is a misconception that growing organically is somehow less successful, or more difficult, and nothing is further from the truth.
I started teaching in the Organic Land Care Diploma Program at Gaia College in 2009, and have taught for them ever since. Their program is one of the best around, and it makes the science of growing very accessible. I also have taught for North Island College in the Red Seal Horticulture Apprenticeship Program in both levels one and two. I have been asked to speak at countless garden clubs and events. I have been asked over and over to do a book of gardening wisdom. This website is the first step, and I hope you will enjoy reading about the experiences I have in the garden, and will learn that often the most sustainable and organic way to do things is actually the easy way. Welcome to Lazy Garden Living!
Meet the Gardener
I started out early as a plant lover, and just never fell out of love. I have built and run greenhouses, taught hundreds of students about how to grow things. I started my career growing organic vegetables, went back to school and learned how to grow nearly everything. I took charge of the greenhouse at Vancouver Island University and grew tropical plants, bedding plants, vegetables, flowers, nursery stock, and forest seedlings for twenty years. I have consistently grown most of my own vegetables at home, and have organized and presented classes and workshops in Ontario, the Yukon, and British Columbia. I have taught for Gaia College's Organic Land Care Diploma, and am totally convinced that organic growing is the only way to go. It fits right in with the Lazy Garden Living Philosophy. Stick around to find out more!
Connie Kuramoto
Organic Master Gardener
Next Steps...
For more information about classes, workshops, or consultations, please contact Connie at gardensonthego@gmail.com