Ann Loves Plants: the garden memoir continues…

Hello readers! This is the official goodbye post for the old name of this site: Amateur Bot-ann-ist.

It was a name I came up with nearly 18 years ago when I was living only 1/16th of the life I am now. That was back when I was married to someone else, and was unable to move much or think clearly due to medical conditions. I spent a lot of time reclined, living in fear of the conditions that prevented me from standing, working, and which caused painful swelling throughout my body.

I was on the verge of anaphylactic shock daily and a nobody going nowhere. Plants connected me to life in a way people could not. You could be anyone you wanted online and I wanted to try to be someone else.

The name was intended to anchor me, connecting me to a variation of my last name Amato, and the subject of botany—a path not taken. At that time, I was worried about not being a plant professional, and I wanted to appear to be something other than an unstable disabled woman with mounting debt.

The name has not been easy for folks to remember, and it has caused confusion. Nowadays, I’m definitely NOT an amateur, but back then, I was trying to be clever and witty—hoping to impress.

Now, comfortably at midlife, I no longer have the same goals I did 18 years ago. I want to go after other things in the time I have left. I refuse to continue to live with the same stress and anxiety from medical PTSD. This means I don’t want to remember being that sick anymore, and only recently did I connect those dots. That’s when I made the decision that the name had to change. I’m a professional horticulturist now—and I love plants. It’s that simple.

From now on I plan to promote a clear garden and horticulture agenda here.

Ann Loves Plants says it perfectly.

(I hope you’ll continue to stick around. If you’ve not subscribed yet, please consider doing so. Posts will be published on Thursdays.)