About Dancing Raven Design I'm Gayle Larson, C.P.H. I have been a food-fixated vegetarian for over 20 years, very concerned with the quality of food and food production.  My mother grew tomatoes, strawberries and tree fruit in Southern California, but I was much more interested in eating them than growing them. I'd never grown vegetables until 1995 , when I married a man who grew up with a large vegetable garden and just took it for granted that we could have one too.  We started with a half a dozen tomatoes in 5 gallon containers.  They were on the asphalt driveway of a rented house in Seattle and we had to move them 3 times a day to catch the sun.  I was absolutely fascinated and they were absolutely delicious!  We were CSA members for several years and loved going to the farm to help with weeding and harvesting. We moved to Kitsap County in June of 1999.  I was so nervous that I spent the entire winter reading books on vegetable gardening.  We started that spring with one raised bed, 2 shop lights, a bunch of soaker hoses and some PVC pipes for a tunnel cloche.  By 2004, we were growing almost all the vegetables we could eat in a year.  I became so obsessed that I went back to school and got a degree in Landscape Design.  In 2008 I passed the exam to become a Certified Professional Horticulturist (CPH). After graduation, I worked as a designer for a landscaping firm in Everett for several years and still do some  ornamental design work.  I've got a pretty extensive art background and love doing the drawings, but the vegetable garden is really my passion.  So, as work slowed to match the economy, I started my own business as an Edible Garden Coach/Consultant, helping folks create and maintain food gardens.  Growing food gives me a sense of independence as well as a connection to the Earth and her complex systems of life. Besides working one-on-one with clients, I teach Urban Vegetable Gardening classes at several locations in Kitsap County, as well as Edmonds Community College.  See my Events page for schedules! I am also proud to have been on the Design Team for the 2010 NW Flower & Garden show display garden by WSNLA. "To get the best results you must talk to your vegetables. "  Prince Charles Contact us (360)981-7127 or click here to email