In 2010 our family was given the opportunity to move to Austin, TX, and we jumped at the chance! We bought 2 acres and a major “fixer upper” and were determined to make it our dream.

Once we made the house legally “inhabitable” again we moved in and got to work clearing out all the overrun juniper trees in our back yard so we could plant a garden! Our dreams were bigger than our skills and we quickly realized we had made our garden too big for us to handle.

Well, luck was on our side, because while doing the tree clearing we found a mysterious 25,000 gallon water tank in the backyard. Through some knowledgeable neighbors we found out that the original owners of the home had a rain harvesting system and this 3 story tank was part of it!

We called out a rain harvesting specialist and he helped us get it all set up and running again. We learned that he was a Texas Master Gardener and he invited us to their plant sale that weekend. We went to the sale and before we left I had signed up for their next session of Master Gardener training classes! Over the next year I was taught, trained, and schooled by specialists, professionals, academics, hobbyists and every kind of plant loving person known to man.

My own garden thrived because of knowledge shared with me, and yours can, too!