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My book was truly a labor of love. I was quite fortunate to be approached by an acquisitions editor from Timber Press who heard me present my flagship seminar, You Can Garden For Life, at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle and called to ask me if I would be interested in turning my one-hour seminar into a 30,000-word book.
Humbled and shocked, of course, I said "YES!" Okay, truth is, I cried for several hours in absolute disbelief.
My luck continued when one of my dearest friends offered to take photographs for the book. People always tell me the photographs are beautiful and make the book that much more special. The book has done so well, it quickly went into a second printing.
I sell the book on my website: www.tonigattone.com and when purchased direct through me, I will personalize it and sign it before mailing it to you.
Of course, it is available at all book sellers across the country and on Amazon.
- You Can Garden for Life! …with Adaptive Gardening
- The Moveable Feast | Growing Edibles in Containers
- Adapting Your Garden for Drought
- Fire-Safe Landscaping
Now in my seventies, I relate to my audience who, from time to time, have secretly wondered how long they can continue gardening because of physical limitations. I suffer from chronic back pain that I inherited from my Mom, but I can't complain because that is what brought me to create my "encore career" as a full-time professional speaker and author.
I'm honored to share I won the 2021 Gold Medal Award for Speaking for my adaptive gardening seminar from GardenComm International.
I'm Italian, stubborn, and determined to never give up. I believe there is always another way to get things done if we get creative and learn new ways to adapt, modify, and change the way we've always done things.
You won't go wrong hiring me to speak at your next event. I'm an enthusiastic how-to speaker, and I can inspire your audience to be all they can be, so they can garden for life, in comfort and safety, with ease and joy.
You Can Garden for Life! …with Adaptive Gardening (1 hour)
Sooner or later, it happens to all of us… That moment when you realize you have a ‘new normal’ of what you can no longer comfortably or safely do in your garden. If you are one of millions of gardeners who silently wonder: “How long can I keep this up?” because you have painful physical limitations, my flagship seminar You Can Garden For Life will be a life-changer for you.
With 78 million Baby Boomers becoming seniors and millions more in all age groups that suffer from limited mobility issues, this informative ‘how-to’ adaptive gardening seminar delivers dozens of tips, tools, and techniques that can help. My goal is to inspire gardeners to adapt; to look for a better way, and be more resilient when your body doesn’t work the same way it used to, so you can garden for life.
The Moveable Feast | Growing Edibles in Containers (1 hour)
https://youtu.be/NZMcTMduLrI
Gardeners love growing their veggies and salad greens in containers because they are so much easier to plant and maintain than traditional garden beds. The good news is that most edibles are super happy growing in containers. You can transform your decks, patios, and balconies by grouping interesting containers for a feast of color and visual punch.
Containers are ultimately moveable so you can capture more sun as it changes from season to season. And speaking of moving, your body will be so much happier because you can tend and harvest your edible feast without bending over.
Every career move brought Toni Gattone to where she is today. After college, she taught school and then transitioned into sales in corporate America. Out of three companies, her favorite was selling and delivering presentation skills to corporate executives. She joined the National Speakers Association and served on their local board of directors. In 1990, her entrepreneurial spirit bloomed when she created her sales company in the gift and garden industry. In 2011, Toni became a Master Gardener and began teaching as a way of giving back to her community.
Today Toni Gattone is a speaker with a passion to help gardeners of all ages and abilities to garden for life. Toni knows from experience that physical limitations are the reason we need to re-evaluate how and when we garden, and how we can re-work our gardens for greater comfort and safety. With grace and humor, she explains how you can adapt your favorite tools or replace them with quality ergonomic tools. Toni speaks to audiences at garden clubs, national flower and garden shows, Master Gardener symposiums, women, and senior groups.
Now an author, Toni’s book, The Lifelong Gardener, Garden with Ease & Joy at Any Age, was published by Timber Press in August 2019 and is resonating with so many gardeners that it is already in the second printing.
TESTIMONIALS:
"Your presentation was excellent and I heard that from more than one person as I was leaving. You were sensitive to our "senior" needs without condescension, and what's more, you made us want to get up and get out there in the dirt!”
- Loulie H. Sutro – President of the Board of Directors of Marin Villages
"Wonderful presentation... such valuable and practical information for our aging group! You made it possible for those who are experiencing difficulty to continue to pursue nature’s beauty. It was a blessing, thank you very much!”
- Arlene Henry
"Getting older doesn’t mean we have to stop doing what we love. With the pain and frustration now in my rearview mirror, I fully intend to garden gracefully until I drop, hopefully in a bed of lavender."
– Karen Anderson Valley of the Moon Garden Club
The information gave hope and inspiration to never stop enjoying the things in life that we love, regardless of age or mobility.
- Beatrice Ross, Mill Valley Senior Center
Thank you so much for today’s presentation. You are a knowledgeable and engaging speaker and you held your audience’s attention expertly.
- Patricia Locke, Marin Master Gardeners
Great pace, excellent energy, positive and upbeat. Well done!!! Bravo!!!
-Suzanne Bontempo, Plant Harmony, Our Water Our World
You gave so many great suggestions for making gardening easier – it was much appreciated.
- Terry Arnold, Margaret Todd Senior Center
Excellent presentation! Great ideas – loved the discussion on adapted tools. Gardening can be an ageless pursuit.
- Janet Moore, Ross Valley Garden Club
I loved how you engaged the group, made a relationship with all us gardeners and gave some interesting information. I give you a thumb's up.
–Sharon Howard, Livermore Amador Valley Garden Club
Adaptive Gardening
Gardening for Seniors
Gardening with Mobility Issues
Gardening Techniques for Back Issues
Timber Press Author
Garden Speaker and Author
Adaptive Gardening Tools
Tips and Tools for Senior Gardeners