Heavy snow can damage branches....using a broom, gently push UP on branches to knock off snow.  If it's a weeping tree, then it's okay to gently brush downwards....

MEET YOUR PERSONAL GARDENERS

Lisa O'Toole has worked for One Garden at a Time since 2006.  She loves to hand weed our client's gardens.  Lisa's grandfather taught her about gardening, especially the importance of preparing the soil, and growing vegetables, roses and fruit trees.  Lisa has fond memories of following behind her Pap as he double dug the garden beds.  Her job was to pick out all the rocks!  Lisa's an active member of the Murrysville Garden Club and has served on the Mayor's committee for the Route 22 Beautification.  She earned her certificate as Landscape Design Consultant through the National Garden Club Federation, and has attended numerous seminars at Phipps Conservatory, Penn State University, and Chatham College.  Lisa's favorite gardening tip:  Composting!  Compost builds the soil and creates a great growing environment for all plants. Use what you have available in the form of kitchen scraps -- egg shells, coffee or tea grounds, vegetable scraps and lawn clippings and leaves. 

Cathy Gothie has worked for One Garden at a Time since 2006.  She received associate degrees in Horticulture and Floriculture from Westmoreland County Community College.  Cathy especially enjoys hand pruning shrubs.

Sally Fallat has worked for One Garden at a Time since 2007.  She enjoys all aspects of gardening, but especially pruning.

Pat Kolar started working for One Garden at a Time in 2008.  Farming and gardening run deep in her family history and she's loved "playing in the dirt" since childhood.  She especially enjoys the challenge of transforming neglected or unwieldy plants, shrubs and trees back to their natural beauty.  After all, they need a "spa day" too!  Pat's favorite garden tip:  trim out the dead wood in shrubs before pruning anything else.  The shrub will look better right away and you can more easily select which branches to cut next.

Cindy Barr joined us in 2009.  Cindy enjoys meeting new clients and designing new gardens or restoring overgrown gardens to become a place they can enjoy again.

Sandy Fabec is a lifelong plant lover and gardener.  She learned about growing food, flowers, and using herbs as medicine from her grandparents.  She first began to ID wild plants for medicinal use when she was about 13 and that led to her study of the world of wild foods and medicinal herbs in more recent years.  Her own garden reflects the wildness in her own nature, and has been likened to an impressionistic painting.

Elaine Laymon has gardened from North Carolina to Seattle but loves western Pennsylvania soil the best.  Her favorite assignment is taming out-of-control perennial beds.

JOIN OUR STAFF OF PERSONAL GARDENERS

Do you love gardening?  One Garden at a Time is always looking for knowledgeable, dependable people who love to garden.  Our year runs from late March to early November.  We work Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. We do garden maintenance in Murrysville, Delmont, Export, Harrison City, Greensburg, the east end of Pittsburgh, (including Edgewood, Point Breeze and Shadyside,) Oakmont, and Fox Chapel, PA. Interested? Contact Carol here

About owner Carol Chernega

       Carol Chernega has worked as a professional gardener since 1992.  She holds a Certificate in Horticulture from Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA.  She designed and installed extensive gardens at Cherry Wood Golf Course near Apollo, PA.

    Carol's favorite gardening task is pruning, and she loves to share pruning tips with other gardeners.  This passion lead to the development of her Personal Pruning Coach workshops, and her Pruning Shrubs DVD.

    She's been visiting England since 1997, studying English gardens, literature, and English history.  This lead to her specialization in English garden design in her lectures, writing, and garden maintenance business.

    It also lead to her being chosen as the first International Visitor for the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA). This honor meant Carol worked for two months in Jane Austen's garden in Chawton, England. (photo left; click for larger view) As a result of that experience, she now sells Jane Austen merchandise on this web site.  She's a retired President of the Western Pennsylvania Region of the Jane Austen Society, and leads group tours to England, focusing on gardens and literature.

    When she's not visiting English gardens, or talking about them, Carol loves to write about them!  She's the English Garden Editor at BellaOnline . . . read her articles at the BellaOnline web site

     She's also the author of A Dream House: Exploring the Literary Homes of England.  For more information, please visit A Dream House Book web site

    Carol condensed her knowledge of English garden design and put it into a tips booklet: How to Create an English Garden, which is available on this web site.  (learn more about our English garden booklet) 

A few of the publications Carol's published in:

Contact Carol with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2011 One Garden at a Time - reproduction of any information or photograph on this web site, by electronic means or otherwise, without written permission, is strictly forbidden.      Last modified: 12/18/11