Thanks for your curiosity about me.

I am Carol from Hong Kong. I’m a journalist and teacher. But my heart has always been deeply rooted in plant care.

My gardening journey began over 40 years ago (I know, I look young), having been raised in a home filled with a variety of houseplants, including my mom’s garden of Phalaenopsis in pots and many orchids mounted on wood.

I enjoy nurturing life and exploring the wonders of nature. It’s fascinating to watch plants grow, from the delicate beauty of orchids to the thrill of observing vegetables climb up a vertical garden. Taking care of these plants is nurturing for me too. It’s like they give back as much as they get!

Living in an apartment, I fill my sun-bathed balcony and window sills with various rose varieties and other fragrant ornamentals like jasmine and gardenia. I made vermicompost with worms and experimented with the natural approach of fertilizing potted plants without using chemical fertilizers and had great success (don’t miss my natural plant fertilizer recipe).

The ‘One-Straw Revolution’ by Masanobu Fukuoka greatly inspires me. I’ve practiced natural farming on rented land, collecting forest soil and leaves to create compost and enrich the soil microbes, successfully growing carrots, beetroots, beans, and leafy greens organically. 

The year 2016 was life-changing. I left my teaching job in Hong Kong, packed up, and embarked on a journey to rural Chile in South America. There, I spent a year working on farms, learning everything from organic farming, making compost to constructing a greenhouse.

I founded AskGardening to demystify plant care. It’s not just about the how-to of nurturing plants; it’s about understanding the ‘why’ behind every leaf and bloom.