Situated snuggly in the heart of the Skookumchuck Valley is a place where the colors of summer never fade. Amid the greenhouses and gardens, master gardener Sandy Livingstone wealds her green thumb on the usual and no-so-usual plants and flowers of the Pacific Northwest. The scene is enough to make even the most timid of gardeners tingle with excitement. “It began with my interest in herbs,” Livingstone said of her humble beginnings. A former 9-to5er, Livingstone decided to forgo Monday morning meetings for morning sunshine and garden gloves. That was two decades ago.
Since then the Livingstone business has grown into a flowering empire all its own, servicing clients as far as Japan and Australia and notables such as Bill Gates.

“When I started I didn’t really know that much. I read everything about herbs I could get my hands on,” she said. When she began, Livingstone said, herb gardens and pots were the driving force of the gardening business. The trend, which began in England and moved from the East Coast to the West, were, for all intents and purposes, akin to the bell bottom craze of the ’70s and early 2000s. “They were extremely popular then they slacked off for a while and now they’re the hot thing again. They’re back in fashion,” she said. Now, said Livingstone, instead of East coast gardens setting the growing trend, the West coast has taken charge of the seasons’ ever-changing desires. But aside from popular varieties of plants and flowers, she said, the largest change she sees has come in the type of gardening Americans are going for. In a word – easy.

Toping this year’s most desired list - low maintenance and instant bloom gratification.  If Vogue had a garden catalog, hanging baskets would make the 2007 cover. “Container gardening is huge. People want to be able to have a garden-to-go,” she said. “The new houses on the market have no room for a garden. They don’t have the big yards and garden space they used to have.” Besides the lack of space, Livingstone points to the growing time constraints on the modern day family for the increase “instant” gardens. “People don’t have the time to work in the garden like they used to. Both parents have full time jobs. They want to be able to be able to drive through and pick up their dinner and drive through to pick up their gardens,” she said.

To meet that need, Livingstone and her family have diversified their offerings in recent years, increasing the variety and volume of hanging baskets and potted herbs and flowers they offer. But, said Livingstone, herbs continue to be her biggest passion and one of her biggest sellers. “They are easy to grow and not only can you cook with them they make you feel good too,” she said pointing to the soothing properties of lavender and rosemary. “Some things are just tried and true,” she said.

Web Site problems? They're probably Paul's fault.