I Dig Your Story

Katie Jansen - Owner, Katie Casey Designs

Host Ellen Wells chats with Katie Jensen of Katie Casey Designs—a plant shop, garden center, and landscape design studio all rolled into one—in Clear Lake, Iowa. Even while recovering from a flu-like bug, Ellen wasn’t about to miss the chance to catch up with Katie, who truly “does it all.”
Ellen has known Katie long before she opened her own shop—back when Katie was writing for Better Homes and Gardens. From those early days as a garden writer to becoming a business owner and designer, Katie’s career has taken some impressive and unexpected turns.
In this conversation, Katie shares:
Where her love of plants first began
How and why she walked away from her original career path
What led her to create Katie Casey Designs
What’s ahead for her and her business in the coming year
And fair warning, Kelly Norris—Katie may be paying you a visit soon.
Tune in to hear how passion, creativity, and a little boldness can grow into a life rooted in plants and possibility.
Find Katie IRL at Katie Casey Designs in Clear Lake, Iowa, and online at katiecaseydesigns.com. 

Marta Maria Garcia - Head of Product Management and Marketing for Dümmen Orange in North America

Welcome to I Dig Your Story, a podcast where we unearth the personal stories behind the plants, people, gardens, and green spaces that shape our lives.
I’m your host, Ellen Wells, and today’s guest is someone I’ve known for nearly 18 years—Marta Maria Garcia, Head of Product Management and Marketing for Dümmen Orange in North America. Marta Maria and I have been friends and industry colleagues for a long time, but even after all these years, I realized I didn’t really know how she first found her way into the plant world.
In this episode, Marta Maria shares the surprising path that led her from marketing Bacardi in Puerto Rico to building a career in the plant industry in South Florida. We talk about how her background in marketing shaped her approach, the twists and turns of her career, and what drew her to horticulture in the first place.
Stick around to find out:
What “legacy plant” is growing in her backyard
Her favorite flavor from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream
And what she plans to do when she wins that massive Powerball jackpot (and yes, I’m definitely going with her)
This one is full of stories, good laughs, and a reminder that everyone in this industry has a unique path worth digging into.

Cheri Ruane—Landscape Architect and CDO for Weston & Sampson

On this episode of I Dig Your Story, I’m joined by Cheri Ruane, Chief Development Officer at Weston & Sampson—and a longtime friend, although exactly how long we’ve known each other is still up for debate. Like many friendships, I realized I didn’t exactly know what Cheri does for a living, but I knew it had something to do with landscape architecture. And honestly—do we ever really know what our friends do all day?
In this episode, we break down what a Chief Development Officer at an engineering firm actually does and how a girl from New Jersey made her way to the C-suite of a Boston-based company, with an important stop working in her cousin’s landscape contracting business along the way.
We also talk about how Cheri learns about new plants, why plant selection matters in public spaces, and the one type of plant she hopes breeders will start producing in abundance for public parks everywhere.
Learn more about Cheri: 
@work - https://www.westonandsampson.com/
Fun stuff - just Google Cheri Ruane ; ) 
 

Q&A or FAQ, Call It What You Will

In this special installment of I Dig Your Story, Ellen answers a few questions you didn't even know you had about her podcast. Such as, who is this Ellen? And what's the whole show anyway? 

I Dig Your Story - Pilot Episode with Diane Blazek

In this very first episode of I Dig Your Story we chat with Diane Blazek of National Garden Bureau and All-America Selections. Learn about little Diane, how she found her way into the world of horticulture, and what it takes to keep these two vital industry non-profits running smoothly. Spoiler alert—she and I both want more hours in the day.