Kalea Christman
Horticulture and Homeschool Choir
When Kalea was 14, she wanted to develop a relationship with her grandmother, whom she didn't know well. Her grandmother loved to garden, so Kalea called and asked her if she could teach her about her flower garden. Little did she realize that this would blossom into a lifelong passion. That day she received small starts of plants such as Bachelor button, two different types of Thyme, red Monarda, Echinacea, Hosta, and many more with instructions on how to transplant. Soon with her parents' support, she was redesigning flower beds all over her yard and created a cutting garden, an Asian themed garden, a southwest themed garden, an herb garden, a pond getaway in the side yard, a cool colored garden as well as a hot one, a play yard, and a gazebo. She also helped every year with the family's large vegetable garden and orchard. She has transplanted hundreds of plants into and out of this yard over the years.
When she turned 16 she knew she wanted to get her degree in Horticulture, so to prepare for that she asked her uncle (who was a landscaper) which greenhouse in town was the best one so she could apply there. Town and Country Gardens was his favorite, so she was thrilled when she was hired and ended up working there for seven years. She mostly spent time in the greenhouse caring for annuals and perennials, but also worked a couple of seasons in the nursery learning about trees, shrubs, and vines. It was during this time that she spent a season doing Christmas trees. She also received training in the production house and the store. She eventually became the perennial house manager for two years before she stopped working to start a family. In addition to her work at T&C, she did landscaping consults and jobs on the side.
After High School, she only applied to BYU-Idaho as she had heard that they had one of the best Horticulture programs in the country. While she studied in that program she had the opportunity to go on multiple field trips to Salt Lake, Seattle, and Canada, a two-week trip from Oregon and down the California coast for PAK trials, and Michigan. The trip to Michigan was for a nationwide competition called PLANET. Professors all over the country handpicked their best students to participate in this, and Kalea was chosen to attend the annual and perennial ID event. She won first place in her event, while her team took first overall. Due to this accomplishment, she was asked by professors and her boss at work to identify plants that they didn't know. She also worked for BYU-Idaho as Teacher's Assistant for two different professors where she corrected tests, led study groups, and gave presentations for classes. She graduated with her Bachelor's degree of Science with an emphasis in Production in July of 2009.
Today she continues to garden, although her space now is usually demolished by chickens, children or remodeling. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for plants which has expanded beyond flower and vegetable gardening to medicinal herbs and wildcrafting and other plant arts such as cordage. She also loves music and singing, crocheting, learning, and thrives being a homeschool mom to six children where she has found her ultimate career in mothering and teaching.