We were lucky to catch up with Auyanna McBride recently and have shared our conversation below.

Auyanna, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

We teach beginner gardeners how to start, grow, and maintain a beautiful and flourishing garden. Previously, I was just sharing videos on YouTube and Instagram around our home and garden but once COVID hit I saw alot of people panic. The food shelves were empty and at that time no one really knew what to do or what to expect. During this time I saw a dramatic increase on people starting gardens but many got frustrated which contributed to more stress once their garden was not doing what was expected. Many of my family and friends also started a garden and they would call or text me and ask me what was wrong or what was going on with their plant. I thought to myself, how many more people are experiencing the same problems. At that point I knew I had to start teaching how to start and grow a garden. Gardening is a beautiful journey where you are forever learning but it’s not suppose to cause stress and that is where I came in.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have been gardening for over 20 years. My love for gardening came from my grandparents. My grandmother had the most amazing garden and she loved to share and give. My grandfather owned a lawn care business. My mother loves flowers and would definitely have my sister and I working and my father is passionate about gardening and his lawn. I can still remember him and his neighbors having competition on who had the best lawn. I guess you can say, it’s part of my DNA. We are retired military so when we moved overseas there was only so much cleaning and cooking you could do so I would find some local garden center and come home and start planting. So many people have a misconception about needed a large space to grow. For years I grew in containers on the balcony and there were times I had neither but I still found a way to grow. You can’t limit yourself. Use your imagination and grow. We currently offer gardening courses for beginner gardeners. You learn so much through trial and error but our courses will fast track you into to growing a beautiful garden. When you are first starting out you may think to yourself I can just get this plant and it will grow but there are so many things you have to take into consideration like how much sun does this plant need if any, what type of soil do I need, what do I do if there are pests. I heard so many people say they don’t have a green thumb but I believe everyone does you just need to know some important factors before you get started.

What makes me so happy is when my students send me pictures of the garden or the plants they are growing. I love receiving messages from my students. Several students have taken our courses and came back to me and said, “I was doing exactly what you said not to do and now I know why I have been having trouble. Like I stated, it is a journey, I can’t tell you how many times I have call my grandparents and parents to ask them questions.

How did you build your audience on social media?

We are actually pivoting our business to Auyanna Plants on our social media platform. My children actually encouraged me to start on social media (I guess they got tired of me talking about the garden and showing them pictures) I have connected with so many amazing people but the way that I build my audience is offering genuine advice to people. I would go live on social media and just teach based off of questions some of my followers were asking. I felt that if they had that question how many other people wanted to know the same answers. I would also follow other leaders in the gardening industry and there are some accounts I knew they could not answer all the questions people were asking so if I knew the answer I would comment or even send them a DM. I still make how-to videos on social media showing actually what I do and this is so helpful to people.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being totally honest helped build my reputation. I just don’t show you the pretty all the time. I show you the good, the bad, and the ugly. I don’t want anyone to just think gardening is all roses. You are going to get some pests that eat your plants up overnight, you are going to have plants that just die on you for no apparent reason or you did not see it coming. I would get on social media and show you the pests and show you the damage. I do take beautiful pictures of the garden but I am also going to give you both sides. Don’t think you can start a garden, plant it and walk away. Gardening does take work but you have to ask yourself how much time do I have to devote to growing. So my followers know that I am going to keep it 100% real with you. No sugar coating it here.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.auyannaplants.com
• Instagram: @auyannaplants
• Facebook: FREE Gardening Club we encourage everyone to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/255008679877841
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SouthernEntertaining

Image Credits
These are all images of my own garden