Sunita Shastry says “Although I was very interested in, and loved nature, I have very little early experience of gardening. We had houseplants at home, which I liked to water and tend to, but it was quite limited.”

It was only when she emigrated to the United States and finished her studies did she have her first home and her first garden. That was in her 30s, and even then, work, taking care of a home and a toddler offers little time for the garden.

Then suddenly, she says, “We bought this house with 2 plus acres of land in a very park-like setting. We had no idea what we were getting into,” she admits. In the late 1980s, a friend introduced her to the master gardener program. “Through that program and local garden club, and reading books and magazines, I started developing an abiding interest in all plant forms, she says.

“We started by growing vegetables primarily for family meals. Then, involvement with master gardener projects widened my experience of growing flowers as well. My interest in trees has been a more recent one, necessary as we wanted to replace the ones we lost to storms.”

In 2021, she published a book, “A Garden Primer,” bringing together both her interests in gardening and writing.“I would like to help others develop their gardens,” she says. “I want to explore how I can do that on this platform.”