When she's not creating art or traipsing around the world, sculptor and travel blogger Melanie Waldman is out in the garden, tending to her beloved perennials in the shade and sun.

There are five tenets to her gardening philosophy:

• Perennials are gifts that keep on giving.  
• If it doesn't grow there, move it.
• There is strength in death (when the subject is aphids and snails).
• Enjoying your garden is every bit as important as weeding your garden.
• Pruning has the power to soothe what ails your plants...and you.

She feels fortunate to have a husband who doesn’t mind cleaning the pond, a cat who loves to hang out in the ferns, and a dog who doesn’t dig.

Melanie runs a few web sites of her own, including:

Our gardens in LA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30122252@N02/sets/72157614705171819/

Travels With Two: http://www.travelswithtwo.com/

Artwork Website : http://www.waldmandesign.com/