We recently connected with Charla Anthony and have shared our conversation below.

Charla, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

• 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
background and context?
• Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
• We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
• Contact Information (Optional) – (phone, email, social media). Note that this will be shared in the article
• Photos – you can send 1 personal photo and 4 to 8 relevant images. Any images that you feel would be
relevant to the article. Team / facility / events / happy clients / products / brand related images, etc. Please
provide us with Image Credits if applicable. Please only include the names to credit and no other info.
I am a lifelong gardener from a family of gardeners that influenced and encouraged my interest.
At Texas A&M University, I choose the field of horticulture primarily because of flowers. But I
soon developed a keen interest in ornamental horticulture. For almost 20 years, I was a county
horticulturist serving local residents as an educator – publishing a news column, teaching
Master Gardener classes as well as radio and television broadcasting.
I retired early but missed teaching and working alongside a community of gardeners. So, I
created my business Gardening with Charla. I am a landscape consultant and by building my
social media presence,

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a passionate, lifelong gardener. My family – both my grandmother and my parents strongly influenced my interest. At Texas A&M University, I choose the field of horticulture primarily because of flowers. But, I soon developed a keen interest in ornamental horticulture which is my speciality. For almost 20 years, I was a county horticulturist working as a garden problem solver, a news columnist and teacher for Master Gardener classes. I retired early but missed teaching and working with a community of gardeners. I wanted to return to garden education and the daily interaction with other gardeners. So, I have created a business via a blog and social media. I share science-based gardening practices, how to grow landscape plants and vegetables in warm climates Doing that as a senior citizen has been a challenge. But, I can continue to use my lifelong skills to teach and encourage new and novice gardeners. Doing this in a community of gardeners is a personal goal.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I retired early to take care of my husband who had early onset Alzheimer’s. Otherwise, I would have continued longer in my career position. He was ill for 12 years and in the last 2 years of
caregiving, I chose to reset. Because we were blessed with a highly experienced support team, I
had brief periods of time to initiate my business. After my husband passed away, I stepped full
time into my business – Gardening with Charla.
Through my business I achieve two personal goals. I teach, using my lifelong skills and have the
opportunity to encourage gardeners of every level of experience.
I want to serve my clients well by staying current in my field. Through social media and online
organizations, I’ve met some extraordinary plantsmen, horticulturists and scientists. We discuss
and exchange information allowing me to stay up-to-date in horticulture.
In my 2 years of retirement, I missed the exchange of information that occurs regularly within a
group of gardeners. Through my Substack and blog I have the opportunity to create a gardening
community that is mutually beneficial.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I share through the blog, Substack and social media my garden, gardening techniques and my travels to botanical and private gardens. My goal is to support gardeners and give others an
understanding of gardening so they can grow plants. Many people think you must “have a
green thumb” to garden and that it takes a lot of work. I want to dispel that myth.
Whether it is growing a pot plant, cut flowers, vegetables or an entire landscape, gardening is
beneficial. It is one of the best ways to boost health and reduce stress levels. I want to
encourage people to experience the positive impact of gardening and get a front row seat to
the wonders of the natural world.

Contact Info:

• Website: gardeningwithcharla.com
• Instagram: @gardeningwithcharla
• Facebook: gardeningwithcharla
• Youtube: gardeningwithcharla
• Other: Substack @gardeningwithcharla

Image Credits
n/a all images by Charla Anthony