Teaching has always been a cornerstone of our business here at Sweet Earth Co. It’s even in our main mission — We Grow, We Design, We Teach.

Over our 10+ years in business, we’ve held workshops — both virtual and in-person — on things from seed-starting to floral design and botanical crafts. We love coming together with people near and far to improve our lives through growing & designing flowers and cultivating a mindset and practice of sustainability.

I know first-hand the impact that connecting with nature and having my hands in the soil can have. You see, I wasn’t always a garden designer or flower farmer. I'm a career changer, having spent almost 20 years in the world of corporate finance and investments. But in 2010, I received a cancer diagnosis that changed my life, and that's when I turned to the earth; I started growing my own food because I wanted to be sure it was safe from chemicals and also began growing herbs and using them to support my immune system. I also reached out to local farms to volunteer during that time. That provided the horticultural therapy I needed and a passion was ignited. I went on to study at the NY Botanical Garden and received a certificate in gardening and focused on sustainable design. And in 2012 I started Sweet Earth Co. I initially focused on edible gardens, including herb gardens and then quickly expanded to full sustainable landscapes that focused on improving biodiversity and that were designed and maintained using regenerative practices and principles. Long story short, turning lawns into eco-gardens such as cutting gardens, and teaching others to do the same became my WHY.

Last year, we had the idea to take our We Teach mission to a whole new level. We thought: What if we could help people set big goals for their cutting gardens and walk them through how to achieve them? The more people that turn their lawn to eco-gardens the better — for the local community and the environment overall.

We started learning more about what a bigger online course would entail, and how we could walk people through a total transformation: starting and maintaining an eco-friendly cutting garden with confidence.

We surveyed our email list, CSA members and workshop participants, and had in-depth conversations with customers to find out why they loved gardening and growing flowers, and importantly, what they found challenging.

We enlisted a small group of participants to beta-test our course and provide us with valuable feedback as we developed it. As a result, we designed a course that was comprehensive, but easy to follow. One that provided a step-by-step framework with both written guides and video tutorials. And one that allowed participants to ask questions and get answers in real time.

Last year, in March of 2023, our signature program went live — the Eco-Friendly Cutting Garden opened its doors to its first ever students. Our students learned a lot, and so did we!

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