As a career changer with roots in both business and gardening, I’ve always been fascinated by the overlap between these two worlds. My professional journey began in corporate America, armed with a business school education. Yet, over time, I traded boardrooms for flower fields and pivoted to running Sweet Earth Co., where I now teach sustainable gardening and floral design. Surprisingly, many business principles—like setting SMART goals—translate beautifully into the gardening realm.

During my recent workshop, Growing Your Vision: Garden Goals Workshop, I had the privilege of working with an audience that included several corporate professionals. It became clear that the structured, results-oriented approach many are familiar with in their careers resonates just as strongly when applied to their gardens.

Why Set SMART Goals for Gardening?

Just as in business, a clear plan can transform vague aspirations into actionable achievements. The SMART framework—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—ensures that your garden dreams don’t remain lofty ideas but instead become tangible successes. For example:

• Vague Goal: “I want a beautiful flower garden.”

• SMART Goal: “I will plant a cutting garden with native flowers that provides weekly bouquets from May to October.”

Taking it further, I’ve layered James Clear’s Atomic Habits philosophy into gardening. By breaking SMART goals into small, manageable steps—what he calls “micro goals for macro results”—gardeners can stay consistent and motivated, even with busy schedules.

A few actions you could identify to make this SMART goal an Atomic SMART goal would be:

• I will identify an area to create a cutting garden and prep it using eco-friendly methods, such as the no-till, lasagne method.

• I will make a list of focal flowers, filler flowers, and greenery organized by season of bloom (spring, summer, fall) and use that list to select the plants that are appropriate for my space.

Bringing the Corporate World into the Garden

It’s natural for me to apply concepts like SMART goals and systems thinking to gardening because these frameworks are deeply ingrained in my previous career. The familiarity of these principles helps those new to gardening see it not just as a hobby but as a fulfilling, goal-oriented practice. Whether it’s creating a vision board for your dream garden or developing systems to handle time constraints and weather challenges, gardening can be as intentional and strategic as any business venture.

Missed the Workshop? Watch the Replay!

If you’re intrigued by how business concepts like SMART goals can elevate your gardening, I invite you to watch the replay of the Growing Your Vision workshop. Together, we’ll explore how to envision your ideal garden, set actionable goals, and establish habits and systems to turn your vision into reality.

Watch The Replay Here — it’s free!

Let’s grow together—whether it’s your garden, your goals, or your perspective!

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