Deborah Fleming works as a garden consultant, art teacher, and artist.

Deborah is a lifelong gardener, having had parents and grandparents passionate about plants. Her husband Bruce Smith and son Leith are usually out in the dirt, too, as often as possible. Deborah's interest in growing plants has expanded in the last few years to raising seedlings for her nursery, selling older plants, and working through small and large garden challenges with her "Walk and Talk" garden clients. She is presently working on a Horticultural Certificate from the University of Guelph, and hopes to complete the degree program before too many more gardening seasons have passed.

However ! approaching gardening as her work is a mid-life change for Deborah. She has designed and created stained glass windows for people across Canada for twenty years. She has been an art teacher for many of those years as well. Her degrees (B.Ed, M.A.) are still being put to good use, as she teaches privately in the winter, and volunteers vigorously for the art program at her son's elementary school in Hubbards.

After "retiring" from stained glass, the idea of painting became, again, a main interest. With tremendous painters for parents, and the inspiring association with Jan Shilletto and the gang of afternoon artists, Deborah feels fortunate to be able to participate and enjoy the painterly experience as much as she does.

Though the medium changes, the idea for Deborah seems to be the same: getting involved with intriguing small things, and making sure these beings get lots of special attention, so they can grow up to be sturdy and vibrant, and off on their own adventures!

Deborah and her family came from Alberta, and have been in the St. Margaret's Bay area of Nova Scotia since 1988.