Where I live: I live out in West Fayetteville in the Clabber Creek Subdivision off of Rupple Road.
Occupation: Lead gardener at the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks in Fayetteville. I take care of the greenhouse, all the gardens, all the displays and plants. We do the educational components and the festivities as well. There aren’t very many people who work out here, so we all kind of pitch in. I graduated from the University of Arkansas in December with a degree in landscape architecture. I’ve been lead gardener since March, so it’s my first full season. I had volunteered out here in college for a year, working with the last head gardener, Jackie Jasper. The garden is just 3 years old, and it’s a grassroots, nonprofit organization. We run on volunteers mainly and a very small budget.
My favorite space: The koi pond at the Botanical Garden.
Why? It’s so peaceful, serene and tranquil. I feel very lucky every time I get to work out here. It’s very beautiful. The waterfall that runs into the koi pond drowns out all the noise from the road, so it’s very quiet. It’s just nice to find a place like that.
If I could do one thing to improve this space I would: Make it bigger.