A quick introduction

Hi! Welcome to this corner of the internet where I get to share my love of plants with you. My name is Emily Walz. I started Asters on Azalea in the spring of 2026.

I began my gardening career as a wee lass playing in the yard alongside my dad as he worked our garden. Being outside has always been my happy place. Once I was old enough, my dad started taking me to the garden store to pick out the packs of impatiens we always put in our shady front beds. Then, we waited for the blooms to come and go, leaving the delight of their explosive seeds pods, which brought me no end of entertainment.

Fast forward to my own garden. As soon as I purchased my first house, I started a veggie garden - I’m obsessed with homegrown beets. Then, I dove headfirst into the world of no-till and healthy soils. While I was learning about soil, I was troubleshooting a very very wet, soggy clay side yard - turns out what I needed was native plants.

I stopped mowing my side yard, embraced the soggy soil, and planted some wet clay-loving plants. Year after year, the roots of the plants got deeper, the plants themselves got larger and new ones showed up on their own. Also, year after year, the water would rise less during the heavy rains and would soak into the ground faster.

Now, I love going out to my garden every day to see what’s blooming and who’s visiting the flowers. I spend time with the birds, watch the flights of the butterflies, and listen for the buzz of the bumblebees.

I hope my love of and experience with native plants and gardening can play a part making your yard somewhere you love to be.