We recently connected with Sarah Williams and Sarah Malone and have shared our conversation below.

Hi, Sarah Williams and Sarah Malone, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

Edwin* had always loved being outdoors and enjoyed the serenity of his garden after longs days toiling in a cloistered cubicle. The rustling leaves swirling in the wind helped calm his heart and mind, and the brilliant colors sparked his imagination after the dull toupes a d greys of the walls and computers of corporate America. As the years passed, he added to his collection of grand and unusual plants. His love for his garden grew, even as his strength to maintain it ebbed. Finally, he retired and was able to enjoy his garden daily, only to find it required more effort than he was able to give. That’s when Limberlost Gardens was invited into his yard and his life, and restored the beauty and tranquility of his garden as well as the peace of mind it once brought him. In the short time that Limberlost Gardens has been serving our clients, we have heard this story dozens of times! Sarah Williams and Sarah Malone (the ‘Sarah’ team) work together to help people who have lost hope in the overwhelming flora of Florida and the extensive growth of the sweltering summers to bring joy out of order, aesthetics and personal particularities. We care not only for the gardens, but the souls of our clients, striving to love and care for people above all. We do complete overhauls of existing landscaping, clean ups and clearouts as well as mowing, maintenance and seasonal work. We also build vegetable gardens and help people learn to grow their own food.
Being full time moms as well as newly found business women, we have faced challenges in our business that other companies may not experience, but God has blessed us immensely.
We have enjoyed working with local schools to build gardens and further the botanical education of our children. Through a family connection, we gained a mentor that has been instrumental in providing advice and counsel. Our husbands and children have been supportive and sacrificial, helping in any way they are able. In one years time, we are boasting a staff of 11 employees. We have seen explosive growth, and pray we can continue to grow and help provide for our families and serve our friends in ways that brings them joy.

*Name changed to protect the identity of our client.
**The name Limberlost Gardens stems from a book one of the owners read when she was young. A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter tells the story of a girl in the Limberlost Swamp who collected moths and butterflies to mount and earn a living supporting her family. This was threatened when there was talk of draining the Swamp for development. The Limberlost is an actual Indiana State Historic Site, which was also at one time host to the largest concentration and varietyof moths and butterflies in the United States. The name is fitting, as with each garden we plant, we hope to encourage a return of the native flora, fauna and flying friends.

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?

Our business grew from one garden girlie planting so many plants in her newly purchased 1/3 acre on the outskirts of Tampa that her husband (being the voice of reason) told her she had to stop. From there, she began to plant for family and friends, and even landscaped a local church. Having a vision for bringing non-conformist gardens and landscape to the area, and with a focus on things that traditional landscapers wouldn’t touch, such as delicate butterfly gardens and native plants, she planted her way into the hearts of the community. Soon, she was completely overwhelmed by the business side of the business, being a complete creative and not at all organized and she reached out to her dear friend for help. Thus, Limberlost Gardens was officially formed. We specialize in flower gardens, but will provide you with whatever style of landscape you desire. We can take a landscape that blends into the surrounding neighborhood and make it stand out with particular beauty and originality. We also provide maintenance services with hand weeding and chemical free weed removal! Being chemical free makes us stand out in an industry marked by the overuse of toxic pesticides and herbicides. We hope to see the trajectory of the demand for this continue to grow as people are made aware of how continually adding forever chemicals to the soil they live on influences cancer and disease uptick.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Sarah Malone and I were paired together in a lifegroup in our church. When Covid hit, Sarah Malone began growing plants and raising butterflies as a pass time. As our friendship grew, I told Sarah countless times that she should open a nursery, or come work with me. Eventually, as her youngest began school, she joined me in the garden! Her partnership has been instrumental in the growth and responsibilities of our business!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Although business is very demanding time wise, and we felt compelled in the beginning to sacrifice a ton with our families, we have learned to not let anything take precedent over the most important gift and task God has given to us at this point in our lives. The garden can always wait, but our children can’t, so we have learned to keep our priorities in check!

Contact Info:

• Website: Limberlostgardens.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/limberlostgardengirl
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087851284578&mibextid=ZbWKwL