Gardening Passion Becomes Career for Geneva Woman

Formerly a real-estate broker, Geneva resident Debbie Notaro has successfully changed careers to become a City go-to gardening coach through her Geneva-based business My Secret Garden, the Chicago Tribune reports in a profile.

According to the paper, Notaro returned to Geneva from California in 2000 with a master-gardener certification, and soon found herself becoming a frequent consult for all matters horticultural, taking side jobs designing gardens and helping out

"Part of the function of the master gardener program is educating the public," Notaro told the paper. “Once people know you're a master gardener, they think you're a gardening genius."

Notaro took the next step into full-time garden-consulting in 2004 when she founded My Secret Garden, where she doesn’t so much dig as guide people in best practices for growing their gardens lush, fruitful and beautiful, the paper said. 

"Sometimes people just need an idea or two,” she told the paper. “They need assurance that what they're doing is OK… I'm not there to criticize or try to make you feel bad about your garden. My purpose is to come there to educate you so gardening becomes a pleasure and not a chore." 

Read the full story at the Chicago Tribune website.