Perhaps you know my next guest from her television appearances or her Garden World Report?  Shirley Bovshow is a garden designer, and she regularly writes about her work as a gardener and designer at her site called Edenmakers.  Here are a few fun ‘Shirley’ facts.

“I was approached by a celebrity look-alike producer  and asked if I was interested in being a  “Sophia Loren” impersonator when I was 22 years old. I was leaving my office on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood…. In the 12th grade,  I taught my “Honors American History” class for the whole week! I asked the teacher if I could do a special presentation on a Monday and he liked it so much, he asked me back each day- for a week!…I attended seminary and thought about being a missionary before I married my Jewish, secular, husband!…I sing and have never lost a  dance contest!”

My Favorite things: Shirley Bovshow

1. I live for a great view in the garden. If there isn’t one, I create one!
2. Succulents- nature’s living sculptures.
3. The friendliness and down to earth nature of most gardeners.
4. The Upsy Daisy planter insert- it has revolutionized my work. Less soil, less weight!

I’m an “inspiration magnet!” Everywhere I go, the muses follow me. My problem is not finding inspiration, it’s knowing when to stop. I always carry a notebook, laptop and camera. I also wake up at night and write down the ideas I get in the wee hours.

1. An interesting shadow  pattern on the  sidewalk became the inspiration for a landscape layout for a  project I was doing. I literally stopped in my tracks and stared at the floor and started sketching a rough layout for my client’s yard.

2. I found inspiration for my “living succulent tapestry pillow” while watching “Citizen Cane.” There was a scene where I saw a beautiful embroidered curtain for a second. It had large cabbage roses that reminded me of sempervivums and echeverias poking through the material. After the movie was over, I attacked  my outdoor pillows, took the filling out of them, inserted moss and started planting my succulents through them.

3. When I hear a foreign language that I can discern, I immediately crave that particular ethnic cuisine. I hear Punjabi or Farsi being spoken and I can taste the  “aloo gobi” or “fesenjun.” I can cook from sensory memory so I don’t need a recipe either. This is why I’m not a petite woman. I LOVE food and cooking for my family and friends!

4. Let’s not get started on ideas for garden video. In the movie, “The Sixth Sense” the main character was a little boy who claimed to see “dead people.” I claim to see “completed video series!” For some reason a single word can trigger a tsunami of video show ideas that I either write down or record myself a video message for later.
It’s exhausting being me, really it is!