We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Fern Cook a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Fern, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a customer success story with us?

On a blustery frigid evening at my BFF’s 12th-ish Night house party, a champagne-toasted neighborhood Mom caught my attention and engaged me in a conversation about her landscape woes. As it is not my normal behavior to mix business with champagne, I tried to direct the topic towards the upcoming spring concert lineups, but Tammie would not be deterred. It seemed she had hired a Landscape Architect to try to solve the myriad of drainage problems and 18′ hill that crossed her 50′ wide backyard. Thousands of dollars later, she had a plan in hand for a ridiculous 14′ concrete retaining wall (enjoy living in a Kroger parking lot anyone?) that also carried a cool quarter million dollar price tag. After I shared a few minutes chatting about how I do business, Tammie grabbed my face with both hands, kissed me on the cheek and dragged me by the face over to her husband RJ saying “RJ, this is Fern. She is going to be our landscaper!” The following week, we met in her backyard mountain swamp and I had a Landscape Vision for her yard that would solve the issues and create a comfortable, serene outdoor living space without breaking the bank. If pictures are worth 1000 words, this video must be worth a million. Check it out here. https://youtu.be/7K50V2I2OoE
My little company gave this project our collective best. We implemented a 4′ wall with smile wall partners to wrangle the steep hillside, control erosion and create planting pockets. At the base of the wall, we installed a flagstone patio complete with a stone fire ring and matching seat wall. A river rock drainage area created opportunity for a raised vegetable planter element. The original design featured a 20 foot long waterfall terminating into a grotto hot tub water feature (I told you I had a vision!). Alas, it was cut for ease of care and instead a faux-waterfall boulder grouping planted with subsequent blooming blue groundcover flowers stands in its place. Finally, sod, plants, trees and mulch soften the hardscapes, control erosion, soak up water and create the most beautiful, breathable air in the neighborhood.
What makes this story a unique success? In spite of my determination to keep professional relationships professional, Tammie and I became fast friends and spent many hours on her back patio sharing our most personal challenges, supporting each other and enjoying life. When my son was badly injured (like amputation bad) in the spring of his senior year of high school, Tammie and RJ jumped in with their big hearts. They stocked my house with all the things, reached out to their corporate friends and funded our donations account, then hired a band, auctioned a Big Green Egg and threw the coolest, kindest fund raising party for Jacob.
In the midst of that spring time party, with Jacob just out of the hospital but playing bass on the stage, all my dearest friends and family surrounding me and that glorious landscape shining with all the blessings of our Mother Earth, RJ took me aside and whispered something like this “Look around Fern. Take a minute to be present in this circle of giving and receiving. It is the true gift of Life.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Knowledge, experience and honesty make our company great. Relationships with clients, employees and vendors make us successful.

Most landscape architects and designers have not spent years pushing the wheelbarrow and installing the plants. There is no disconnect between form and function at Shady Grove. When designing and installing an outdoor room, we consider all aspects of the space including how the space will be used, storm water flow, choosing the perfect plant for the space, traffic movement around the area and budget.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One of my greatest strengths in growing a successful business is the ability to handle conflict. When a client approaches me with a serious issue, I immediately take time for an in-person meeting to resolve the issue. On the way to the meeting, I will go through the future conversation in my mind and do my best to put myself in their position- trying to understand why they are feeling angry/scared/concerned. During the meeting, I try my best to be present and approach the conflict with as little Ego as possible. The most appropriate resolution typically reveals itself during my practice conversation and almost always comes to fruition during the real conversation. I accept full responsibility for any mis-steps by myself or my crew and also set clear boundaries against claims that did not arise from our company’s actions. I highly recommend reading Eckhart Tolle’s ‘A New Earth’

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I use 3D modeling software to clearly communicate my vision. It obviously helps the client’s understand their landscape opportunities but also communicates the vision to the permit office and my crews.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ShadyGroveLandscapeCompany.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shadygrovelandscapeco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shadygrovelandscapecompany
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS737WqoMuG6EdeKvxhRyvg/videos
• Other: https://youtu.be/7K50V2I2OoE

Image Credits
Fern Cook, Rachel Braun