“I love ALL things gardening” is the way MG Intern Eleanor James sums up her reason for wanting to take the MG class, and her enthusiasm in sharing what she grows in her yard is contagious. As a child, Eleanor gardened alongside her mother, who had grown up in the country, grew vegetables and flowers, and always had a meticulously tended yard. When Eleanor, her husband, and 3 children moved into a new home with minimal landscaping 30 years ago, she had a blank slate to create the yard of her dreams, and it continues to be a source of joy, peace and fulfillment. Landscape design is a special interest of hers, and her yard now includes 8 Japanese Maple trees, over 100 hostas, along with azaleas, rhododendrons and other plants. She hopes to add a bridge, fountain, and raised beds one day, but with a yard that has limited full sun it is sometimes hard to find the right place for some of the things she would like to grow. Her favorite season is Spring and her favorite time to work in her garden is early morning, often starting by 5 am but always ending before noon. She loves the process of watching things grow and seeing her yard come alive as flowers bloom, and like many gardeners, finds herself talking to her plants at times. One plant had not bloomed for 3 years and she remembers telling it one day that it had better bloom soon or she might dig it up- and the next day it had blooms!

This is the first time Eleanor has applied to be in the MG class, but she had thought about it for several years and kept missing the application cut-off dates. She loves to learn and has enjoyed the class, but her favorite part has been getting to know classmates and sharing information. She has worked in the Demonstration Garden at Ellington and is eager to help at Sevier Park once that gets started, as that project will likely include some landscaping design opportunities. She sees garden areas as big puzzles with individual plants being puzzle pieces, and she loves to see how they can best fit together to complete a wonderful design.

In addition to gardening, Eleanor loves to travel and usually finds time to visit local botanical gardens wherever she is. She worked almost 25 years in the hospitality industry as an event manager and in other roles, but after the pandemic she decided it was time for a change and now works at the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville. She and her husband have 3 adult children and a dog named Quincy, who is her gardening buddy. Her favorite holiday is Christmas and she decorates the inside of the house while her husband does the outside. Their yard has won neighborhood awards for “Best Christmas Decorations” but has never won for “Most Beautiful Yard” in the spring or summer- yet! Eleanor thinks the judging is done after many of her flowers have already bloomed and faded, but with all her plans for future enhancements in the yard, a Most Beautiful Yard award may be in her future. She also wants to meet the requirements for a Smart Yard and maybe open her garden for a tour in the future after some work on their home is completed.