Hi there! I’m Tara LeDonne Jenkins, a Sebastopol native. I’m the youngest of 6 kids that went through Apple Blossom, Twin Hills and Analy districts growing up. As long as I remember, I’ve been intrigued with plants and the natural world. My mom was educated by her midwife about the medicinal and edible plants that naturally grew around our property, which she in turn taught us about. Wild radishes, comfrey, sour grass, chamomile, miner’s lettuce, white wild onions were plentiful and it was so interesting finding out that something wasn’t just a “weed” but had health benefits. My fascination with nature grew over time and actually solidified my belief in a Divine Creator that was the original, creative and expert Artist. 

When I went away to college, my friends and family laughed that I was probably a rare kid to pack their car full of house plants moving 100s of miles away to San Diego. I majored in Ethnic Studies at UC San Diego, which was a huge learning and growing time for me. I graduated with Honors and moved home again. After my degree and learning a lot about the hard, and tragic inequities that are systemic in our culture, I was in a depressed state. Gardening and tending to plants was a soothing and healthy outlet for me to get balanced and focused.  

Soon after met my wonderful, kind and supportive husband, Jeremy, and we got married and started a family soon after. As a career, I had chosen to be a hairstylist, which was a lovely way to be artistic, connect one on one with my wonderful clientele and dabble in psychology. After 20 years of that career, I decided to transition into something new. I had looked into classes to begin a Masters in Counseling, when one of my clients/ friends mentioned she was selling her plant shop in Sebastopol! Looking back, I had usually gravitated to working with my hands to balance my over-analytical mind. I loved to work with wood, painting, crocheting, knitting, sewing, macramé, embroidery, as well as gardening. This venture opened a new and exciting prospect where I could connect in a new way with people interested in plants, crafts and love of art.