KINGSTON — Heidi Kaster may have a degree in teaching, but her classroom is far from traditional. Instead of instructing youngsters the three Rs, she teaches herself in her own “school” — a 10-acre property on Hansville Road, where she and her husband Dave live and operate Dragonfly Farms Nursery.

Last year, Kaster landscaped Monday through Thursday on Bainbridge Island, then worked in her nursery on the island Friday through Sunday. That left very little time for maintaining her own 10 acres at home. So the couple made the decision to sell the island property and move the business home.

“It’s just easier here,” Kaster said.

While she still landscapes Monday through Thursday, Kaster is now able to pay more attention to the nursery on the weekend and can expand her varieties of plants.

“We’re always doing something,” she said.

Aside from being closer to home, Kaster said she also loves the fact that she has plenty of space to grow anything she wants.

“I love my plants. I get to grow weird things,” she said with a laugh, noting she enjoys experimenting with them, seeing what will grow in various environments or how they will react to different treatments.

The plants are organically grown and most are drought resistant, which means they can tolerate minimal water. Kaster uses ladybugs to eat aphids and has a variety of birds on the property that go after the worms and problem insects.

While the business is currently going through a transitional period and the selection of plants may be limited, Kaster is always bringing down new ones from her greenhouses.

“I love plants. I don’t think I dislike anything. I grow almost everything from seeds,” she said, adding that she gets seeds from all corners of the world — Africa, Australia and England — to build up her eclectic mix of plants, trees and shrubs. “I don’t have a plan. I just start going with whatever works at the time. There may not be a lot but there is a variety.”

A landscaper since 1988, Kaster has picked up industry secrets and tricks of the trade by talking with other landscapers and gardeners and reading her seed catalogs and books during the winter.

“I’m a sponge. I read. I love books,” she explained. “During the maintenance end of it, I learn from people who have been doing it for years.”

While Kaster loves to educate herself, she also enjoys passing along what she’s learned, especially to those who may be more hesitant about gardening.

Anyone can garden and if the plants die, that’s just part of the learning process, she said. Kaster said she often comes across people who are afraid to garden because they fear killing their plants. That’s when she encourages them to try again.

Kaster said she also wants to educate new gardeners on appropriate ways to grow or treat their greens. She said some will put a shade plant in a full sun and wonder why it died.

“The plant has to be in the right place, right soil situation for it to do well,” she said. “It’s always a learning thing — I don’t think you ever quit.”