Horticultural Specialist

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. I have worked in the nursery business for seven years, surviving the elements and getting to know a multitude of botanical specimens, both common and rare. I have been a landscape consultant and designer for four years, and an avid gardener specializing Texas native plants, edible plants, herbs, and exotic tropicals.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. The more one engages with the natural landscape, the more rewarding gardening can be. The key to successful gardening and landscaping is to start with good soil and the best plant for a specific light condition.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. Are you a gardener?

What is the name of this plant?

Why is this plant struggling?

Why do you work with plants?

How can I maximize curb appeal while minimizing water, fertlizer, and pesticide use.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I am committed to every client I have. Most of my clients are repeat customers that I have built a good relationship with over time. They call me when they are having a problem with a shrub, or would like some advice on what to plant in a tight corner where nothing seems to live. I am always learning something new. I have to in order to be successful at what I do because I tackle a diverse range of landscaping problems and projects. I make it my business to have answers to the landscaping needs of my community.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. Being outside, getting my hands dirty, placing a living plant in the ground and watching it grow and bloom. Helping people do this same thing. Fantastic.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. "How can I make my landscape look better?" I recommend carefully selected perennials, shrubs, screens, and trees as necessary. I also recommend organic techniques to restore ecological health to the landscape. I also focus on maximizing water efficiency.

'How can I add curb appeal?" I recommend adding curved borders to the landscape, and a combination of feature shrubs with flowering annuals, perennials and evergreens for seasonal interest all year long.

"How can I block out my neighbor's window?" I recommend an evergreen screen of some kind, such as Cherry Laurel, Japanese Yew, Yaupon Holly, Wax Myrtle, Loquat, etc.

"How can I start a vegetable garden?" This one is my favorite. I have a variety of solutions for starting vegetable gardens and maintaining them to reap the rewards of home-grown food. Home-grown food is the best kind of food there is.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I was an anthropology major at Baylor University from 1994-1997. During this time, I was inspired to understand the subsistence relationships that people have with the botanical world. This lead me into the study of ethnobotany, and the start of my business, Plant Fix, because plants and people go together. They always have, and the more we engage with the botanical world, the more we understand what it means to be human. So my passion today is helping my clients connect with their own landscape and develope new appreciations for their local ecology.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Yes, although not through school, because school can't keep up with the pace of horticultural knowledge and technology. I read books, listen to people far wiser than I, and most importantly, I garden and study the environment around me, which keeps me on my toes, because there is always something new to discover in the plant world.