Cookie's efforts to sell a gardening tool she invented to keep soil from dropping on her neighbors while potting plants on her balcony, is what got her to become a Master Gardener. Hosting an exhibit at garden walks and flower shows, she was constantly asked gardening questions. Although a farm girl all of her life, she did not know many of the answers, so she decided to become a Master Gardener.

Today Cookie is a regular volunteer at the Lincoln Park Conservatory as a docent when not tending to plants on her balcony or her cottage garden at a summer cottage in Michigan. The rest of her day she spends selling her product called "The Wedgie." (www.wedgie.biz)

Some other things about Cookie that you should know:

Favorite annual: Double Impatiens

Favorite perennial: Phlox since they attract hummingbirds

Gardening Tip: Practice composting, use your table scraps. Amend, amend and amend your soil.

Reporter: Chicago Master Gardener: Jerry Hossli