About

About Jamie: From the time she was young, Jamie Saechao has been immersed in nature. She grew up on a fish farm in rural Oregon, surrounded by lush temperature rain forests. As a young adult Jamie worked at garden centers and nurseries, where her love for plants took root.

In her early twenties, Jamie acquired a degree in environmental technology. In addition to her love for plants, Jamie is a professional photographer with almost two decades of experience. She combines her love of flowers and photography to create clearly illustrated gardening tutorials. Jamie helps over fifty thousand monthly readers grow beautiful flowers through her website Green Garden Cottage.

Growing up, soil always felt magical to me.  I ran through my childhood barefoot, fists full of huckleberries and hair adorned with poppies….

Mesmerized by the way light trickled through the maple leaves and captivated by the vibrant hues of purple foxglove, my formative years were soaked with happy hues of nature. The temperate rain forest I called home gifted me an early love for the quiet ways of nature.  The fertile soil grew more than plants: it nurtured my soul.

Me with 3 of my 4 children: Cece, Clark and Malachi.

This love of living things was a seed planted deep within that would flourish and carry me through adulthood.  I kept a toe dipped in nature and worked my thumbs until they turned green. 

My first jobs found me in nurseries, caring for and learning about plants.  I delighted in flowers and used the time to soak up as much plant knowledge as possible.

I would later find my passion as a portrait and wedding photographer.  Nature was woven into my portraits whenever possible.  On wedding days the floral arrangements and bouquets were my favorite to photograph.

One of the many inspiring avant garde bouquets I was honored to photograph in my wedding photography years.

As I became a mother I set aside my working passions to focus on growing the littles.  As so often happens when we prune our lives, new beauty sprung forth. 

It was in this quiet home setting that my children and I began gardening together.   I suddenly had the time and space to lean deeply into flower gardening, with little hands working alongside me.

Here my passions collide to bring you this little garden cottage website. We grow flowers and photograph them, teaching what we learn through written words and sharing beauty where we can.

Over the years I have grown flowers on small patios in the city, nurtured herbs on postage stamp sized suburbia lots, and planted daffodils on a sprawling 100 year old farm.  

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It didn’t matter where I was: the magic of the soil was the same.  The seeds served to inspire, heal and connect wherever they were planted.

So don’t be dismayed if you have a small space in which to grow.  Those seeds we carry and the magic of good soil can inspire beauty anywhere. 

If you’re here, I’m guessing you love wild beautiful things as well.  You can find inspiration for growing flowers, houseplants and herbs throughout my site. We also share flower and herbal DIY’s and nature photography tutorials.

I combine my love for gardening, joy for writing, and enthusiasm for art into every blog post, in the hopes of sharing just a little bit of beauty and joy with the world.

If you are brand new to flower gardening, I encourage you to check out our flower growing guide for beginners here.

Enjoy the magic of the soil + the beauty of the flowers- Jamie

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