Shobha Vanchiswar bio

Shobha Vanchiswar cannot recall a time when she wasn’t interested in gardening. Most of her childhood in India was spent outdoors. “I’d while away hours observing flora and fauna, experimenting with seeds, examining parts of flowers and forms of leaves, nibbling on fruits. I’d return with a collection of leaves and seeds, cuts from thorny plants, bites from disturbed ants, and a deep sense of time well spent.” In graduate school, Shobha escaped the demands of scientific research by reading garden books. Her life in science morphed into one of consulting and coaching on garden design, blogging (seedsofdesign.com), speaking about gardening, and letting her garden serve as muse to her painting and poetry. “I’ve painted almost all the flowers that bloom in my garden and written corresponding poetry. This progressed to printing the images on fabric to create soft home furnishings." Her pillows, tea towels, napkins, etc., are available for sale on her website; a portion of the profits supports HIV/AIDS girls in an orphanage in India.