Susan and Tom Libertiny from Garden Moxie
Sue and Tom Libertiny on the steps of Gravetye Manor in the UK

You Don’t Need to be a Garden Designer to Have a Beautiful Home Garden

Hi. I’m Sue Libertiny. I started Garden Moxie to share practical and inspiring home gardening ideas. You’ll find articles about plants, design, and garden-inspired do-it-yourself projects. My garden is located in Michigan (Zone 6a). I share highlights from my personal garden so we can learn and grow together.

We all start gardening as beginners. I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to be a Garden Designer to have a beautiful garden. It’s great if you have time to train as a designer, but most of us simply want to create a peaceful spot to relax. That’s exactly how I started.

My first home garden was a 3 ft x 7 ft section of lawn, dug up, surrounded with landscape bricks, and planted with perennials rescued from a friend’s garden. No soil preparation. No grand plan. No color scheme. I had no idea how to make a garden. Yet despite this inexperience, those flowers grew like champs and sparked an obsession.

Gardens Are More Than Pretty Flowers

Surrounding ourselves with beauty and nature helps us deal with the stresses of daily life. Our gardens are a sanctuary. An escape.

Creating a beautiful garden and a beautiful home is important work. It matters.

Our gardens are more than pretty flowers. Our gardens are a place to escape the daily grind.

I created Garden Moxie to share the things I find inspiring. I hope they inspire you too. Whether it’s new plants, garden-inspired projects, or helpful tips and tricks, I want to build a garden community where we can learn together. I’m so happy you’re here.

Sharing What I’ve Learned about Home Gardening

I love gardening so much that I trained as a Master Gardener at Michigan State University, completed garden design courses, and now spend every free moment in the garden. 

My husband, Tom, also helps. He is the certified ditch digger (I certified him following a very rigorous procedure), photographer, and the official “figure-out-how-to-build-this-thing-we-need” guy.

My humble beginnings are proof that you can build a beautiful home garden too. Let’s grow and learn together.