About

I’m Missy Greenleaf Flinn—a gardener, writer, and spiritual ecologist with a deep love for native plants and the healing power of the land. For me, gardening is more than a task or a trade. It’s a way of being in relationship—with the earth, with place, and with the people I serve.

I’m a Franklin County Master Gardener Volunteer, trained in horticulture and active in community gardens across Central Ohio. I specialize in designing gardens that are both ecologically sound and personally meaningful, with a particular passion for native plants. I love helping people discover native alternatives to traditional nursery selections—plants that restore habitat, support pollinators, and truly belong to the landscape.

But my path to gardening didn’t just begin in the soil—it also grew from spirit. I earned a Master of Divinity degree from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, where I specialized in eco-theology and the intersection of faith and creation care. I believe gardens are sacred spaces. Whether public or private, cultivated or wild, they offer places of connection, healing, and transformation. I write about these themes on my Substack, Highways & Hedges, where I share reflections on gardening, spirituality, and the presence of God in the everyday.

My home, which I call Oak House, is my own living laboratory—a place where I learn from the land, experiment with native plantings, and find rest among the roots. I’ve also found healing through tending other people’s gardens, walking in public parks, and digging in the dirt shoulder to shoulder with friends and neighbors. I genuinely enjoy the hands-on work of gardening—from planting to weeding to pruning—and I find joy in every phase of the growing cycle.

Through Urban Gaia, I bring together all these threads: ecological wisdom, spiritual care, and practical know-how. I work with clients to design and tend gardens that reflect their values, support the health of the ecosystem, and invite beauty into everyday life. Whether you’re dreaming of a native front yard, revitalizing a community space, or simply hoping to reconnect with the natural world, I’d love to walk beside you—and help something good take root.