Owner, Designer, and Plantaholic

Talisman, the founder and owner of The Charmed Thumb, came to landscape design as a second career. She earned her Ph.D. in history from Vanderbilt University in 1995 and worked as a history professor first at Vanderbilt, then Fisk University, Davidson College, and finally University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

While developing her own home landscape, she was asked by a neighbor to assist with her garden and then another despite her protests that she was not a professional. To gain some training, she enrolled in the Rocky Mountain Gardner program through the Denver Botanic Garden and formed The Charmed Thumb in 2008.

Talisman intentionally keeps her business very small so she can personally supervise each project during both the design and long-term maintenance required for success.

Her partnerships with clients and employees are what make it all fun, worth while, and beautiful.  She is fortunate to have two wonderful children and a long-suffering husband who support her gardening obsession. Her young dog, Nelson, loves gardening too though he feels his enthusiastic digging skills are underappreciated.

Plant Specialist

Lauren is a rising senior in high school, where she is an honor student. She loves to study world history and language arts.  She is also a diver on her school’s swim and dive team and holds the school record for the 11-dive score. She spends the rest of her time volunteering in various positions at her church.

Lauren has always loved plants and being outdoors, so working for the Charmed Thumb is the perfect job for her! She has loved learning about the native plants of Colorado over the past summer.

Plant Specialist

Leanna will be graduating high school in the Spring of 2023.  She is involved in extracurricular such as Student Council, DECA, Volleyball, and National Honor Society and co-founded some plant-related clubs including the Horticulture Club last year!  Outside of school, she spends her time rock climbing, summiting some amazing 14ers, and backpacking with her sister Rachel.

Some of Leanna’s favorite parts of gardening are seeing all the unique yards that each client has and how their  personalities come to light through plants and design. Her number one least favorite part of gardening is spiders. She believes they purposely find their way into her work area.

Plant Specialist

Rachel’s interest in gardening and garden design began when she designed and created a memorial garden at her high school in Fountain, Colorado.

She recently graduated from the University of Colorado (Colorado Springs) with a degree in Geography and Environmental Studies. She is now pursuing her masters in Hydrology, Water Resources, and Environmental Fluid Mechanics at Colorado University in Boulder.

2022 will mark Rachel’s fourth year working at The Charmed Thumb! Her favorite parts about gardening are enjoying wildlife interacting with the plants (hummingbirds and bears included) and getting to vent out her frustrations on the weeds.

In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, cycling, climbing, and of course gardening! Rachel’s favorite plant is Datura wrightii, because of its impressive, fragrant flowers, rich history for ceremonial and medicinal uses, and its hidden toxicity.

Plant Specialist

Anna got into gardening after a traumatic accident in 2013. Frustrated at trying to grow a typical garden, she found better success with pungent herbs and drought-tolerant natives. Then after taking up beekeeping, her therapeutic garden developed a further focus on native & pollinator-friendly plants. It is now a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

Anna has a BS in Visual Communications / Design and finds gardening an excellent way to balance her web & branding work at the computer. Landscaping with The Charmed Thumb lets her see and experience even more yard types, garden designs, and plant varieties.

She also adores hiking and Argentine tango with her husband.  When not designing or in the garden, she enjoys intricate pattern-making projects, such as pysanky eggs, Celtic knots, and Islamic geometric design.

Plant Specialist

Coming soon.