Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Holly Delmonico. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Holly, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I have always been obsessed with plants. Both of my grandpas taught me to care for plants and vegetables starting when I was around 3 years old, and I loved being taught things like how to propagate begonias in a greenhouse. Now, spending time in nature and putting my hands in the dirt puts me in a meditative flow state that makes me feel contented.

Unfortunately, I considered gardening to only be a hobby until 2018. At that time a friend reached out to me because she needed help running her landscape business. The business was established and had been doing well, but I could see that she could make more money if she presented her services in a different way – and it worked! We rebranded, changed the name and elevated her landscaping business to a design + build company that is still thriving to this day.

And there it was – I had a future vision for myself. My love of plants, my eye for design and the knowledge of how to run a business finally coalesced and I knew that I wanted to start a garden design business.

I moved to Santa Fe in 2021 with my husband and two small children. After my youngest child turned 2, I felt like I had enough space in my life to start creating the next chapter in my life. So, in 2022 I created a website that I knew would be the backbone of my business, and booked my first steady clean-up job less than a week later. In the spring of 2024 I landed a massive job that catapulted my business to a new level while giving me massive amounts of confidence and experience.

It also helped me see the void that I was filling in terms of planting services. There are plenty of installers in town, but design isn’t their forte. Santa Fe also has amazing landscape architects, but what about the client whose needs fall somewhere in between that scope? I have had clients reach out to me because they didn’t quite need the major overhaul that a landscape architect’s services would provide, but wanted something more designed than what the average landscaper can deliver. I offer just that – site specific design with a focus on native softscapes (grasses, trees, cacti, flowers and shrubs).

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

Because they help to reverse habitat loss and mitigate urbanization, I use native plants in my designs whenever possible. Helping people become part of a collective effort when they provide a patch of habitat is something I am really proud of, and this is a way that I can achieve that.

I am also proud of the way I help expand my clients’ relationship to nature by having plants that will draw pollinators. It’s a rewarding form of conservation for me and my clients because you get to see the bees enjoying the pollen you have provided them, you get to hear and watch the hummingbirds frolic and fight as they buzz by.

I hope that taking a proactive approach to reversing habitat loss will give my clients a sense of empowerment that may lead to finding other ways to help the environment in our community.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Community bulletin boards have been key to growing my business. Places like Baked and Brew, Betterday Coffee, Mail Call and The Ark are local places in town that offer community bulletin boards that get a lot of action. This old school approach is one of the things I find charming about Santa Fe. Referrals have also been a steady source of leads for me.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

This spring I landed a fantastic gardening opportunity that illustrates the power of bringing people closer to nature. I met a potential client, a ritualist, who wanted to turn a half-moon area in her back yard into a meditation garden. Immediately I thought that an altar in the garden would help with her goals.

As I mentioned this idea, she lit up, and I got the business.

I helped her find a large, flat boulder to use as an altar that gave her plenty of space to work on. This became the centerpiece of her meditation garden.

It was wonderful to see pollinators visiting the flowers we chose even before we planted them. We brought life and purpose into an area that was just dirt a month ago. She is going to use this garden to heal and I got to help her on that journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thearchersgarden.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thearchersgardendesign/