Nashville Garden Designer, The Grass Girl, Interview with Stroll Belle Meade
We are so excited to have our interview published with Stroll Belle Meade!
Stroll is the go-to magazine for the Belle Meade community and the neighborly connections it fosters for the community is bar-none. We are so proud to be a part of it! In this interview we share information about our business and the latest garden design tips with the residents of Belle Meade, TN in the March issue of Stroll. Check out our complete interview in Stroll Belle Meade below:
Meet The Grass Girl, Clare Horne
Your Garden’s Favorite Artist
INTERVIEWED BY STROLL BELLE MEADE
Where did you grow up?
I am a native and grew up in Wilson County in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Tell us about your company and why you started it?
The Grass Girl is a full-service boutique landscape and garden design company, offering custom design, installation and maintenance services to residential and commercial clients.
Outside of wanting to work with my passion for gardening, I started this business because I couldn't find a company that offered what I was seeking as a garden design client. As a single woman, I wanted to work with a female landscape designer that I felt comfortable working with in my home. I also wanted them to be well versed in design, fine gardens and style so that we could communicate and collaborate on the perfect design. The more I looked for such a company to hire, the less promising it seemed to exist. So, I got to work.
You weren’t always a garden designer. You studied computer science, followed by earning a Master's in Fine Art. What eventually inspired you to become a garden designer?
I was working in the software industry after completing graduate school and started to experience severe depression. Although I loved my work, the reality of working inside for 8+ hours a day proved to be detrimental to my mental health. I knew I had to make a change in my life and decided to quit my job.
My first goal was to simply heal myself. I knew I needed sunlight and to be outside so I decided to make a small garden to tend to. I had grown up around the world's best gardener, my grandfather, and it felt so good to use my familial skills during this healing process. Soon after, I knew I wanted to put my art and gardening skills to use as a career.
Did it feel like a massive risk at the time?
Absolutely! But being depressed in my former career was an even greater risk. At the time, I was single and in my early thirties and knew that if there were ever a time to jump, it was the time to do so.
What is unique about your business?
Every project we take on is completely custom to each client and their unique property and family needs. What is your family's style? How do you envision the behaviors or activities of your family interacting with your garden space? What interior design styles would you like to see reflected in your exterior design style? The relationship between a family and any good property designer is rather intimate from the start. Not to mention the months or years of interaction involved with maintenance or aftercare. The warmth and trust we provide to our clients and their families is what I believe is our most unique differentiating factor.
But we're also unique in that we happily cater to the needs of our clients and their gardens with services we may not advertise, but are needed or requested. For instance, many of our clients are touring artists or professionals and request 3+ month watering and maintenance services. Some of our clients have requested vegetable gardening workshops for their children or homeschooling group. We are honored when our clients trust us with their unique needs and requests.
Do you have a favorite design style?
I don't have one particular favorite, no. I'm most attracted to combining design styles and creating eclectic pairings that catch the eye and generate conversation. This most likely comes from my art background. I'm currently obsessed with implementing cold hardy cacti, yucca and succulents as sculptural features in gardens. I very much approach garden design in the same way I approach compositional design in fine art. Gardens are simply living installation art in my mind.
Do you enjoy the actual act of gardening?
I absolutely live for it. In fact, you will rarely find me not installing alongside my team during a project or performing maintenance visits. When I find myself having to be back in front of a computer or in an office for the majority of the day, I know it is time to hire more help.
What don’t you enjoy about it?
I take things like extreme weather, slugs or mealy bugs personally. That’s the heartbreak of gardening. I can cope with something dying if I haven’t looked after it. But when it's mealy bugs...
What are the 3 key things people should consider when creating their garden?
Aspect: How does the sun move around the property? This helps, for example, determine the best place for a luxurious outdoor dining area or where to place light-appropriate plants to create the most visually stunning display.
Function: How do you want to use your property? Relaxation, entertaining, a kitchen garden or a space to grow plants, a place to encourage your family and children to interact more with nature, etc?
Maintenance: Are you a gardener at heart who can’t wait to get outside and get their hands dirty? Are you seeking to invest in weekly or bi-weekly maintenance services or do you want as little to no maintenance requirements at all? This will all determine the best plant choices for your unique wants and goals.
Given your business expertise and the nature of what you do, what advice can you give to our residents?
Your exterior design is just as important as the interior design of your home. It is the first and largest visual impression your home makes to the outside world. Most importantly, it is an opportunity to design the experience you, your family members and your guests first feel when arriving at your home.
It is always frustrating to see a gorgeous home or new development where the landscaping appears like an afterthought. To me, it is the equivalent of creating a black and white underpainting and never completing it with color.