Biographical information

Barb Ottolino

 

Barb Ottolino's background as a high school art and science teacher with a miniscule budget shaped her approach to education.  Now she shares her dollar stretching savvy with you as she continues to emphasize the imaginative use of materials that we seldom consider valuable.

 

After teaching, she managed a commercial greenhouse while training at the Missouri Botanical Garden.  Always intrigued by unusual solutions to problems, she became involved in the manufacture and production of a large, portable vertical garden.  She continues to combine her art and science interests by working as a design consultant for a large landscaping company and teaching for a private art school while operating her own business. “The Cultivated Choice” specializes in outdoor planters for all 4 seasons, in gardening education through individual coaching and consulting, and in a variety of art and horticulture classes, with a specialty in innovative alternative horticultural developments.

 

In 2014 she was selected by LACONI as one of 8 “Best of the Best” speakers in Northeastern Illinois.