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Your Garden is Communicating to you......let me help Translate!
Sunny Roots Garden Consulting
Kelsey Sullivan
720-838-1456
info@sunnyrootsconsulting.com
www.sunnyrootsconsulting.com
Welcome!
My Mountain life, My Love for Plants
BIO
Hi there! I appreciate you wanting to get to know me a little more. It truly helps when picking the right person and service for your project. Let me share with you why I am a garden consultant, which starts with how I gained so much knowledge.
I was born in the 1980s as the middle kid of 3 in Denver Colorado. Started out my life on 4 acres of land with a 3-bedroom home built in the 1950s in Glendale CO. Having all this room, my parents had a garden and planted flowers all over the property. There was also a strong ecosystem of life living all around us. We had many garden snakes, daddy long legs, honeybees, bumble bees, all kinds of butterflies, the flora and fauna were strong here. I fell in love with nature after that, I just did not know yet how much nature would help me.
My first gardening job I was 17 working for Kinnikinnick Landscaping and Maintenance in Steamboat Springs CO; I gained so much from them. I could not believe how welcomed I felt in these gardens. I had my fair share of run ins with bears, moose, and elk. It was always from a safe distance, and we had respect for one another. I was so grateful to work in these beautiful landscapes framing these beautiful homes. It was a new world I knew I wanted to be a part of.
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I worked for many years in the Routt County area as a landscaper. I am familiar with gardening at altitudes at 7400 to 9000 feet. I have had the wonderful challenge of designing plant layouts for homes that are built on the side of the ski mountain. I have seen how weather can make all the difference when it comes to the health of a garden. Microclimates are so important to understand when it comes to having happy plants. I paid a lot of attention to this, especially when I moved around.
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By the 1990s we moved to the mountains and bought a home in a small town in Routt County. ​At the age of 7 I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia. This made my whole school experience extremely difficult, being bullied did not help. My escape was always nature; my parents took us camping and hiking when we needed a vacation from reality. Walking through the forests, hiking above tree line like you're on top of the world, it is the medication my soul needed.
By 2000 (when Y2K didn't happen) my parents bought one of the last log house kits you can buy (just like linkin logs but giant size), altitude 7800 ft. Growing up in the mountains taught me work ethic, responsibility, teamwork, planning ahead, being aware, listening, and how to learn from others. I was now paying attention to all the different climates and wildlife I was around when I would go hike around a mountain.
Steamboat Springs CO Image thanks to Pacaso.com
I moved to Denver, got a job as a gardener with a small business called Bristlecone gardening. This is where I learned more about microclimate. Denver and its surrounding cities all have their own microclimate and plants behave differently. Not all plants survive at 5280 feet of altitude, and in a dessert environment, it is tough.
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I was getting hooked on trying to understand plant behavior, and why they thrive where they do. For example, some trees like oaks are found all over the world while the Blue Spruce has a hard time thriving outside cool, dry, high dessert altitude climates. Field work gave me a lot of understanding of soil health, plant health, and good maintenance practices. But I wanted to have a deeper understanding of botanical names and varieties, along with how to choose and design with plants to bring a home alive.
Denver CO Image thanks to wallpaperaccess.com
Oregon became my next destination for plant knowledge. A very different climate, with altitudes from sea level to well above 9000ft. Oregon has a lot of wholesale plant nurseries, I have had the privilege of being invited out to see how these plants start their life. The botanical gardens are spectacular, the Cascade Mountains are one of a kind, there are waterfalls so massive it takes your breath away, and the magnificent Pacific Northwest ocean has Whales you can see from the coast certain times a year. I hiked some of the most amazing diverse areas. I was there for 5 years and gained so much knowledge working for Garden Centers. I received a Diploma in Landscape Design with honors at Ashworth Collage while I was there. A great accomplishment. Helping clients pick the right plant for the right place became my passion.
When COVID hit, work ran dry, so I moved back to Colorado, closer to family. Got a maintenance job with a Landscaping company and waited for the world to finish changing. Went back to Garden Centers where I continued helping people with their garden problems.
I taught classes when working at these garden centers and after10 years, I found out I love to teach. I have taught topics such as: Pruning, Soil Health, Front Range fruit tree care, microclimate in Colorado, how to have a thriving garden in Colorado, Fall Decorating, Winter decorating and more.
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I have been so blessed to be invited to so many gardens. I have learned from the homeowners themselves when it comes to history of the property, it's important to better understand the present project. There is always more to learn, always. I have been developing my skills for over 20 years. I understand the garden life. That's what I am put on this earth to do. To connect with you.
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