Hi there. My name is Amy Matteucci and I live in Albuquerque, NM. My little grow operation is currently called Rockyard Farm (ig handle rockyard_farm). New Mexico is the land of rock landscaped yards, and I'm slowly but surely turning mine into a garden. I am in the process of renaming myself because I'm expanding to an actual farm. Current front runners for the new name are Querque Flower Farm and La Vida Dahlia. Feel free to weigh in with your thoughts. I am a lifelong gardener/grower, but a relative newbie to dahlias. From my first strawberry patch at age 9 to working in my grandfather's 1/8th acre vegetable patch, to my current dahlia obsession, there is no other place in the world that makes me happier and more peaceful that outside with my hands in the dirt. It's also the one thing I know for sure I'm really good at, which makes me feel very fulfilled. This year I will be growing on a rented farm plot, which is proving to be quite the challenge. The soil in the North Valley along the Rio Grande is clay, clay, and more clay. I was told when I rented the plot that the Tewa and other indigenous farmers had been growing there for thousand of years. I must have gotten the plot where they grew their herb gardens because it seems nothing with deep roots has been there in quite some time. So, it's a work in progress. I'm on track to plant 900 dahlias this year and I could not be more excited. There are currently about 600 potted up out in my backyard right now "toughening up" because the NM sun and wind are no joke. God willing and the snow doesn't come out of nowhere they'll be in the ground in the next 10 days. Fingers crossed.
I'm here because the best part of dahlia growing, besides their unbelievable beauty, are the people I have met. I am learning so much, especially about the history, and can't wait to get to know more like minded folks. I'm kind of burned out on the FB pages and IG feeds, so I'm hoping for some genuine connections and lots of great conversation. Thank you very much for having me. 
