Deborah (Deb) Donovan:  

After nearly 8 years living in England, I've repatriated to Des Moines, IA. I'm not sure how long I'll be here, though. Not only do I have a serious case of wanderlust I haven't really found a sense of place here. Once I jettisoned my childhood dream of being a Broadway star, I pursued various paths following a single theme: applying psychological theory to the masses. Over the years my choice of application and educational study took various directions. I spent about 16 years in political public relations, as a campaign staffer, director and in public office. I also had a career in organizational development, and 35 years doing one aspect or another of marketing/advertising. I've had three major avocations/passions, two of which morphed into mini-careers. I'm a master gardener. I've designed, planted and cultivated ornamental gardens in two countries and several states. I had two horticulture related businesses (Thank you, Mr. A): as a cut flower grower/retailer with dabblings in floristry and landscaping, and as a member of the horticulture oversight committee and caretaker/curator of the rose gardens at a world class foundation-owned garden. I've truly enjoyed the therapeutic, technical, physical and creative/artistic aspects of gardening. The earth is my canvas and plants are my palette. That said, I'm choosing to create with much smaller ...Expand for more