Santifer grew up in Newark, New Jersey, but lived in North Woodmere for more than 45 years. Gardening was actually her third career. She had a bachelor’s in sociology from Rutgers University, but said, “If I’d known I was going to love horticulture, I would have gotten a degree in horticulture from Rutgers instead.” Santifer, who declined to give her age, worked at CBS Records before moving on to television as a talent coordinator for a PBS television show called “Soul!” But when she got married and moved from the city to Long Island in 1977, she took up gardening as a hobby.