Reflecting on 2024
I call my Dad for every major TKG milestone.
He once thought that a business based on garden boxes was the most harebrained idea a kid could have, and he stood by watching— wondering how on earth he could talk sense into me. When he came to help shovel the final wheelbarrows of soil into my first big garden installation back in April 2021, he was impressed with my luck at finding a group of talented craftsman to build a beautiful garden. And when my client’s dubious Canadian husband posed a pop-quiz question for me about rhubarb, Dad was truly shocked that I knew the answer: yep, the leaves are poisonous. Even a Southern garden girl has come across that tidbit. Little by little, I’ve been working to convince my Dad that I— his endlessly messy and overly-eager offspring—will build a successful business based on garden boxes.
This year, 2024, I stopped having to convince him.
Now I just call for the encouraging woot, “Ring that bell, baby!” he always shouts, “Let the big dogs hunt!”(Does your Dad have weird phrases like that!?) 2024 has been a year of solid and steady progress. If a business can be measured in terms of Maslow’s hierarchy, I’m not fighting for the bottom two tiers anymore. This year, I’ve leaned into my team, started referring to us as “we,” and took time in gardens to laugh, dance, and learn. We’ve built gardens, planted lots of plants, and most importantly, we’ve leaned into our purpose as a garden biz: building gardeners. You all are the most important part of this gig, and I’m thrilled to report on 2024 with you all as the key part of the story.
Building Gardens:
In 2024, we collaborated with you to design and build 31 beautiful gardens, blending materials like metal, stone, and cedar to create spaces that are both durable and stunning. After all of this time in gardens, we know that the most important component of design is the people who inhabit the space. A garden isn’t just about beauty; it’s about creating a place where families can play, tend plants, harvest, gather and eat together. So, we incorporated fountains, tables, sinks, swings and statues, each element chosen to enhance the functionality and charm of the garden.Your sweet families, your Pinterest pins, your love of cooking and barefoot days outside— all of this has informed the work at our little biz, and we are grateful for every thread of it.
Growing Gardeners:
This year, with the addition of Abi as the head of our maintenance program, plus Lindsay, Melissa, Emily, Leia and Donielle, we were able to spend more than 800 hours with clients, teaching everything from snipping snapdragons to predator-prey relationships on the tomato plant. We published a bi-weekly newsletter on every single deadline, and thanks to your engagement, Tennessee Kitchen Gardens found a business niche of our own. Our work doesn’t end when the last plant is watered. Instead, we empower gardeners, and we love sharing our plant nerdiness to you. We are grateful for your questions, your WHAT IS THIS BUG freak-out photos, and the energy you bring that makes this work just plain fun.
2024 was the year that we proved that gardening can be a lifestyle. A slow-down, smell the carrots, and get your hands dirty kind of lifestyle. We are so grateful to you for wanting to grow with us. In the words of my Dad, “Let the big dog hunt,” shall we?
