Gardens Designed By Mom

Anne Roberts has fond memories of helping her grandfather tend his garden from when she was young but it never occurred to her that it could potentially become her career. That was until now, says Crain’s Chicago Business.

While away from the workplace, she enrolled in the University of Illinois Extension program for master gardening, then completed a two-year certificate program at the Chicago Botanic Garden on ornamental horticulture.

After stepping a toe into design for a while, in 2005 she incorporated Anne Roberts Gardens Inc., a Chicago-based commercial and residential garden design company specializing in urban gardens.

Her goal is to create sustainable gardens that don’t rely on annual flowers and plants. “I think, ‘How can I make it beautiful for four seasons?’ ” she says. “You can do that with evergreens, ornamental grasses, red twigs, weeping plants, even rocks and art in the garden.”

With friend Agnes Stafford, also a master gardener and now an employee, she began to win business, and word-of-mouth recommendations spread. One of their early clients was the Kerryman Bar & Restaurant, 661 N. Clark St. The lush plantings are among their favorites because people often stop by to admire the space, then ask at the bar who created it. “I’ve got my business cards there now,” Ms. Roberts says.

She employs a full-time staff of four that expands to about 15 during the spring and summer; hiring temporary workers is one of her challenges as a manager. In winter, she offers snow-removal service to bring in some cash.

“My business has grown every year,” she says. “We’ll know we’ve arrived when we do a garden on Michigan Avenue.”

Photo by Wonderlane

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