How Big of a Business Can You Grow as a Garden Consultant?

I was asking myself this question when I first started my garden consulting business right out of my backyard in Houston, Texas, back in 2015. My sights were very small at the beginning. Two of my kids were going to private school just for a year, and I felt on the hook to make up for their $18,000 tuition. I just needed a business that could profit $18,000 in one year.

I should have had much bigger goals, honestly, but you know at the moment, that was all I needed. Over the years, I found the possibilities have been so much bigger than I anticipated and that this business is about much more than profit margins.

With my tiny goal in mind, I sent an email to everyone in my contact list to announce I was starting a garden consulting business.

Little did I know, this was the beginning of something spectacular, a literal dream come true. I get to help people learn how to garden all around the world, and it all started from my own small garden.

My Best Year in Business Was When My Company Hit $1,000,000 in Sales

My business started off just me and my minivan, but I hit six figures in sales after just 15 months. We doubled that the next year and continued to grow. I created the perfect product line: I started my relationship with a client through a garden consultation, I helped them grow further with a garden installation, and then I supported them and ensured their continued success with garden maintenance and coaching.

The year my company hit $1,000,000 in sales, we had a big celebration. We invited all of our clients to attend. I stood in front of about 100 people who'd I gotten to serve over the past six years, and I started crying my eyes out. My little idea to help others learn how to garden had turned into this moment. All of these people were gathered in a beautiful garden I'd created, and they would go home to gardens in their backyards that existed because I sent out an email saying I was starting a garden business.

That's when I realized that business is really about two things: You have to have money because a business can't exist without it. So hitting that million-dollar mark was incredible, sure.

But the other thing is the impact that your business can have on your community, the people it serves, maybe even the world. This is the thing that sticks with you much longer. I was so proud to look out and see all the people I'd reached. The work my company was doing was about so much more than making a million dollars. It was creating hundreds of new gardens in our city and giving people new experiences in nature, teaching them a new skill, helping them become someone they'd never been before—a gardener.

That was 2021, and it was definitely a pinnacle moment for me and for my business.

I've Helped Other Gardeners Create Their Business Wins, Too

Once I figured out my garden consulting business, I started helping gardeners around the world set up their own garden consulting businesses, too. We've gotten to train over a thousand gardeners to date, with hundreds of them now running successful businesses two, three, four, even five and six years later.

I've gotten to see many of these garden consultants throw celebratory parties of their own now. They've hosted clients and experienced similar moments, where they look around and see all the people they're impacting, simply because they went for it, because they sent that first email and started their own business.

So without further ado, here are some of their biggest wins from starting their own businesses with the help of Gardenary.

My Biggest Win Has Been Helping a Client Become Healthier

Kim Thomas of Homegrown Delight in Suffolk, Virginia

My biggest win so far is hearing from a person that I have consulted with who told me that their blood pressure has gone down and they're now off their blood pressure meds. I was like, "Wow, that's amazing."

Now, this particular person also watched me and what I do, how I eat, and has actually seen me go out to my garden and just pick a few leaves, bring them in the house, and fix them, and so that person has latched on to that and changed their lifestyle.

Because this is a lifestyle change; it's not something that you just do for a season or whatever. It's a total lifestyle change, and their blood pressure has gone down.

My Biggest Win Was Creating an Herbal Garden for a Local Nonprofit

Lauren Almquist of Heartspace Herbals and Garden Design

I think honestly the biggest wins are seeing that spark in other people when they realize that they can garden, too, that it's not a special, mysterious thing that you're born with necessarily, but that you can learn it. So really seeing that win in the client's eyes and that spark.

And then another win was creating an herbal garden and production garden for a local nonprofit that makes medically tailored meals for people with special dietary needs. And to create that garden with the company and with the staff and to see it grow is pretty great.

My Work Encourages Kids to Spend More Time Outdoors

Robin Martin of Red Dirt Green Thumb in Edmond, Oklahoma

I have a client that wanted to have a way to get her kids outside and off technology, and she also needed them to earn their badges for their Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops. So she wanted a big space that would be through their entire childhood, that they would be able to just immerse theirselves in, and it was so fun to create that project and get out there with the kids and help them plant and to continue this relationship as they grow. That was very fulfilling.

I Love When My Clients Get That Sparkle in Their Eyes

Heather Spadone of Sage Garden Guide in San Diego, California

My biggest win as a garden consultant, I would say, is that aha moment working with people, when I can see the sparkle in someone's eyes. They have that moment where they realize they can touch the plants and they can eat the plants, and it's like a little light bulb goes off. I think it's the teaching moments and the aha moments that are the biggest wins for me.

I did actually just recently get my first paid consultations, so that was a big professional win, and that felt really good. "Wow, I can actually get paid for this." Yeah, it really comes back to the connection and the aha moments—that's what keeps me going; that's what gives me the fuel and the excitement to do this work.

I Think It's Important for Everybody to Learn How to Grow Their Own Vegetables

Karen Creel of the Garden Chick in Chickamauga, Georgia

You know, I think it's important for everybody to learn how to grow their own vegetables. I recently did a garden design, and we had it installed for a local nonprofit, which is for adult and teen alcohol and drug abuse. That's really been something that I felt was giving back to the community, and I have just really enjoyed how much they've enjoyed gardening.

And I've also been so surprised that people really don't know the simple act of gardening. Most recently, I have worked with a local school that already had several garden beds but just needed a little direction on how to tend them. So I think those are the things I've enjoyed the most.

Are You Inspired or What?

Oh my goodness, there is nothing more beautiful than someone going for their dreams, right? These people are the reason I do what I do. I should put these garden consultant testimonial videos on repeat and watch them anytime I'm having a hard day. That way, I'll remember that there are incredible gardeners who've created meaningful and impactful businesses in their communities.

If these wins inspire you, then I encourage you to just take a moment for yourself and think about your own dreams, the things that you care about, and what you want to build in your lifetime. Here's the thing: Tomorrow never comes. Today is the day to take action and start building your own business.

If you're a gardener, you should consider becoming a garden consultant. The timing has never been better; the demand has never been higher. You can make a huge impact in your community, all while earning a great income for yourself.

You can start making your dreams happen today!

Photo Credits: Victoria Quirk Photo