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

Alright, Sara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with 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.

Deciding to start my own business has been the biggest professional risk I have taken to date. In college I was inspired by the independent contractors creating and managing wildlife habitat. I wanted to be just like them when I graduated, but I didn’t know how. After graduating, I spent time working in the wildlife field. Over the years I worked as a naturalist, a field technician, and even taught an ornithology (bird ID) class! I was so proud of my resume, stacked with volunteer experience and relevant jobs to the field. I felt as if something was missing though. In college, there is a lot of pressure to go on to take a position with a state agency as a wildlife biologist. Despite the pull to work for myself, I had applied for some positions and ultimately turned them down. It felt insane, after all the work I put in to obtain a full time job, I was walking away. “Who am I?!” I asked myself. I decided to follow my heart and embarked on a journey to define who I would be as a professional.
Living in an apartment would not allow me to own a tractor like the big contractors, so I had to determine what scale I could provide quality wildlife habitat. Since 2018 I had been learning about native plant gardening, an up and coming style of gardening. I knew the plants and how they function on a large scale, but I didn’t have much of a green thumb. I come from a family of strong women who garden, so I knew my green thumb was probably just hiding.
I knew that if I could get in on this field early, that I would be successful. The United States is home to 40 million acres of lawn (ew right?) Lawn grass isn’t even native to this country, and is often space that isn’t utilized. Lawns are largely maintained by gas powered equipment, furthering their negative impact on the environment. Lawns could be so much more, swapping a lawn for native plants will provide a number of ecosystem functions along with proving striking views. If more people started chipping away at their lawn spaces we could support more wildlife and promote a healthy ecosystem right at home.
In 2021 I made the official leap to offer native plant garden design. I had already started providing garden care services so I felt confident in taking on small pollinator garden projects. The women of Athens Ohio really lifted me up. To this day I have never felt as loved and supported by a community. These women wanted to see me succeed and I felt so empowered.
Since starting in 2021, my life has had some major changes and health obstacles to overcome but I have not once felt that my profession needed to change. I have honed in on my skills, I’ve become more efficient, and expanded on my ability to create easy to follow design plans. I am so excited to be going into the 2023 season with more services to offer and the confidence to back it up. I am still working on a small scale, because I want to ensure that the work I do is achievable as one person. In 2023 I will be taking on projects to convert existing gardens to native plants, creating new pollinator gardens, and offering consulting to help other gardeners expand on their own skills and knowledge. I offer in person services to clients in my region but I also provide virtual consulting and design for clients in other states.

Sara , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

To further elaborate on what I offer clients, I create native plant garden designs for smaller spaces. This has really set me apart from other designers. Large landscapers often pass on small projects but I love creating “pocket pollinator” gardens. No space is too small to have a positive impact! My designs provide blooms for each part of the growing season, butterfly host plants, and they are tailored to each client’s growing conditions and preferences. For clients in my region I also offer installation of these designs. Since I am one person, I design and install for spaces up to 250 sq ft.

I also offer various options for the DIY gardener. My native plant garden consult provides tailored plant lists, project instructions, information on where to source your plants and seeds, and resources on tools, techniques, and even the common weeds you’ll find in your garden. This will give you, the gardener, everything you need to know to plan your own layout and get plants in the ground. If a client would also like design, my design plans are easy to follow.

I also offer consulting and design services virtually for clients out of my region. Though this is an up and coming field, not everyone has a native plant designer near them. Offering virtual services allows me to get plants in the ground miles away from my home. My first virtual project in 2022 was such a success and I loved working with my clients who were new home owners. My consult established the different planting zones they had to work with, prioritized which to start with, and helped guide them as they worked on it all summer.

Additional services I have come to offer include:
Garden coaching: to help gardeners expand on their knowledge, plan their gardens whether they be vegetable or flowers, and teach them techniques to make caring for their gardens easier.
Wildlife habitat improvement consulting: staying true to my roots I offer habitat management recommendations for large scale projects. This includes an assessment of the current habitat, invasive species identification and management recommendations, along with plants and trees to add to provide quality food and habitat.
Seasonal garden care: my spring and fall garden care is done with pollinators in mind. I carefully work to provide noninvasive care to weed, plant, and get your spaces looking their best without damaging the pollinators around your garden. This is a service I’d like to eventually phase out but it has been my most sought after service so I will be offering it for 2023.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

When I began my journey to design native plant gardens, I had to determine how to create the design. Hilariously enough, my cat had knocked my laptop off the table and it only took the one drop to break the whole thing. I purchased an iPad to replace it because I had the idea to create my designs in Procreate- an art app. I had seen another designer on YouTube use it and I felt that it was the most practical for my small scale design. I by no means have ever been an artist. I got C’s in art class in high school which really discouraged me from ever pursuing art even as a hobby. Procreate was a huge learning curve, if you’ve used it you know what I’m talking about. It is hilarious now to look back at my early attempts, they are truly cursed.
As I learned to use Procreate for my garden design, I also started playing with drawing caterpillars and flowers. Once I got the hang of it I started to pump out a lot of different designs. I then ordered a few as stickers and opened an Etsy shop. I then got a Cricut that allowed me to make stickers, decals, and even iron-ons for shirts. Never did I think I would become such a crafty person. Selling my native plant and pollinator stickers has allowed me to connect with fellow plant nerds in a new way. It is so rewarding to see my stickers in the hands of other folks. My stickers inspire, educate, and showcase the beauty of our native plants and pollinators. Each time I send a sticker out the door I am hopeful that they will catch the eye of others and get more people thinking about native plants and pollinators.

I am so proud of myself for my art journey. Growing up I was so discouraged from art, this went into my adulthood where I never bothered to draw, paint, or craft. Despite feeling so discouraged, I redefined what art has meant to me. In adulthood, we can be tempted to resist change and avoid new things. I am so wholeheartedly proud of myself for breaking out of the mindset that I can’t create art and found a way to create meaningful art all on my own. It really is never too late to learn a new skill and develop a new passion.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Life really enjoys throwing curve balls my way. In 2021 I had to move back in with my family in Michigan. I had planned to move into a new rental, but it had fallen through. I then couldn’t renew my apartment lease because someone else already signed for it. I felt so defeated and lost. I love the Athens Ohio area and I did not want to leave. I had an amazing client base, friends, and a great professional network. However, the housing just wasn’t available. So, I came home to the suburbs of Michigan. My season working in Michigan was not as wonderful as what I experienced in Ohio. This area more potential clients want my garden care services, which is super taxing on my body. In 2022 I was able to do a few pollinator garden installations for wonderful clients but I had hoped to do more. Michigan has a very different conservation industry compared to Ohio. In Ohio there are collaborative efforts between nonprofits and state agencies to educate the public and get plants in the ground. Overall, more people in Ohio are familiar with native plant gardening than in Michigan. It is easier to plug into the native plant community in Ohio than it had been in Michigan. I had to switch gears a little last season and take on a lot of garden care clients to stay busy. It was a lot of hard work but I still made meaningful connections with my community through their gardens. I was able to work for a preschool that invited me to do presentations for the kids through the school year. I also put out a little free plant table to further my connection to the community through plants. I was able to do a few native plant garden planning presentations in the summer and get to know native plant nurseries in my area. I made the most of 2022, looking back I am proud of how the season went but I have high hopes for what this next season will bring. As I head into the 2023 season I am overjoyed to announce my return to Ohio. I cannot wait to see what will be in store for me this season.

Contact Info:

• Website: wildlikeaflowergardening.com
• Instagram: @wild.like.a.flower.gardening
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildlikeaflowergardening/8
• Other: Etsy shop: Wild Like a Flower https://www.etsy.com/shop/WildLikeAFlower?listing_id=1143796170&ref=related#items

Image Credits
All photos and infographics taken or create by myself, Sara Lennert