As a child my favorite book was The Secret Garden. I was fascinated by witches and plant medicine. Later on in High School I never felt like I fit in. I was into reading books. I was into the Beat Generation. The idea that one who wanders is not lost. I loved Jazz music, I was curious about the Grateful Dead. I thought Gypsy living seemed like the perfect living.
I went to a birthday party at the age of 12. Four of my girl friends took a walk around the marina nearby and one girl said,"I stole a joint from my Uncle, do you want to smoke it?" We found a gazebo and sat on the floor in a circle like a witches coven and lit the joint. Something seemed magical, it was magical, it is magic. Plant magic. There was something about the circle, something about the fire, something about the smoke, something about the smell pleasantly wafting around us creating a halo. We were like angels, laying on the hard wood like it was a fluffy cloud, laughing and laughing. We walked back to the birthday party still laughing. Birthday cake never tasted so good.
From that moment on, I followed the path of the Cannabis plant.
I worked 2 jobs through High School. Every cent went to live music and bags of crypto. If we couldn't afford the high grade, we bought mids. I hung out with the stoners but to me it was the first time I felt like I belonged. We listened to Jazz, Bob Marley, Grateful Dead, Phish, P Funk, Beastie Boys, and Tribe Called Quest. We explored music like it was a religion. Read tons of Beat Books, Poetry, Existentialism, Rock and Roll Memoirs, Terrence McKenna and Timothy Leary. We climbed trees and paid homage to the spirits of nature. We smoked hookahs like the Rastas bringing the pipe down to the heart chakra and up to the third eye then up to the Most High, Jah.
In college I took a Environmental Science Class that required community service. I choose to work at a Botanical Garden. I would bring a one hitter to the garden bc I spent hours in the greenhouse just watering plants, washing pots, repotting and all the tasks I was by myself. One day I took a big hit in the greenhouse while watering. I got really stoned. I looked around, took a deep breathe, smelled the fresh air, the plant scented fresh air, felt the moisture, saw the lushness of the greenhouse, felt the moisture from the humidity on my skin and said to the plants, "This is what I want to do for the rest of my life!"
So, I did it. I had applied to University from my community college for Journalism and received a partial scholarship. I went off to University but after the first year switched my major to Environmental Horticulture. My first day of Plant Propagation as the teacher talked about Greenhouse techniques, she chimed in,"I went to California and saw a Cannabis Garden and was so jealous because they had the money to use so many cool toys and techniques." I knew that was me and she was talking to me. The day I graduated I went to California. I had many reasons for wanting to go out west but I landed in San Francisco, The land of milk and honey or the land of cannabis and cabernet.
It was right in the beginning of the Green Rush! I had hitched a ride with a friend and landed in Sonoma county with a backpack, a sleeping bag and $800.00. Not a lot. Luckily I had some friends. I crashed on my friends floor for 2 months. he took me to my first trim job. I will never forget. We worked in a garage. The crew was 20 people and he paid $20.00 per hour. When he paid me for the first time, I looked up and said, "Thank You so much I am so appreciative for this opportunity...you have no idea." My attitude really helped me through the hard times.
I found a room for rent in an artist community in Oakland. My rent was $350.00 per month. I got a job working at a Elementary School after school program. I worked there for 3 years. While trimming on the weekends. making connections. Keeping my head down. I also worked as an artist in my spare time at night. Creating art and selling it on Ebay and Etsy. I went to concerts. i made friends. I missed home. One night I met a guy who was supposed to take care of Ed Rosenthal's orchid greenhouse. He was killing them. So he took me there and I was able to fix his issues. Meeting Ed was huge at the time.
Next, I found one of the best cannabis growers I could find and did an internship with them. I paid my dues. I watered again, cleaned pots, re potted gardens, hauled dirt. I pruned peoples gardens and found I was really good at it. I did it as a side gig. I trimmed for people in the industry for 10 years. I started with my own small garden with 4 lights. I remember my first round came out so amazing. I got 7 pounds of 4 1000watt hps lights. That is really good. The round looked perfect. I was on some dumb shit. The next round failed. I got spider mites. The next round I got powdery mildew. I moved my garden to a larger space. I did well for a year. Then I battled fusarium wilt. A killer disease. I did well. I did horrible. I made money. I lost money. And lost more money. And more and more. I created a protocol. A method. I did it again and again and again. I got it down. Until it was perfect. My shit was tight. repeat. repeat. The goal was consistency. Another small thing was that I was a woman in a mans world. Let's just say, it is a big deal. There are not many woman growers that are successful. There are woman growers that were successful but they are not well known or respected. But they are becoming respected. There are a lot of dudes who took credit for their girlfriends work in the garden. Whatever. I was a girl with my own garden. No one helped me. Woman in the cannabis industry are looked at like they should wear booty shorts and make YouTube videos of themselves taking dabs. I want to say my journey to where I am now was one of dignity and class. I don't get high anymore, I'm not that kid in the gazebo. I take a medicated dose of Cbd for my inflammation in my hands and neck. I don't use Thc because it no longer agrees with me. I am still laughing though.
Somehow with all the odds stacked against me, I ended up being successful in this industry. I ended up staying out here in California. I ended up with my own Secret Garden. My education gave me a cutting edge. There are not many people who came out here with horticulture degrees or even plant degrees. A lot of people who came out here at the same time as I did didn't make it. Some people came out here because they thought this life was a short cut to success. That is the biggest fallacy in this business. The only successful people work hard, just as hard as any successful person in any industry if not harder. You had to take huge risks in this industry. The only way to be on the top is to keep up with all the cutting edge technology. To be on top of all the politics and regulations. The end up though is that at the end of the night I look around the greenhouse as I water my plants, feel the moisture, see the lush greenery and smell the plant scented air. Knowing that I am a part of something. I am a part of an industry that is changing the world. I took a lot of risks a long the way, as a bad ass cannabis queen killing it in my own Secret Garden thats not so secret anymore. Maker of Magical Plant Medicine. Cannabis Alchemist. Green Queen. I love my life, my garden and feel good about being a healer in my own right.
