Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Stanley.
Hi Abby, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story begins here at the greenhouse I suppose. I took my first steps in front of our old retail center and most of my earliest memories are here. I remember looking out the front door of my grandparent’s house on the property and watching the construction of our new retail center in 1999, I was 4. Growing up I was always proud of our business and had a special empathy for my parents and who worked so hard. When I went to college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do at first. I wanted to write for a time but quickly changed to plant sciences when I found Landscape Design. It combined two of my passions, art and nature, so I fell into that. When I graduated, I decided I didn’t want to work in an office (funny, because I do now), so I came to work at the greenhouse in the perennials department. My mom, who was in my position, got sick in 2019 and had to leave work. She appointed another employee to take her position but when the pandemic happened, that employee and about half our staff left. So, I was sort of thrusted into my current role, but I believe things happen for a reason and I was meant to be here. I love what I do and feel that it is my responsibility to carry on my family’s legacy. I also feel very strongly about our place in the larger environmental movement. Gardens are going to save the world, and I feel extremely blessed that I get to be a part of that process.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think life is ever smooth, if so, you are ridiculously lucky. I’d say professionally, the pandemic was obviously the biggest obstacle for me. As I said, I was basically thrown in in March right before our busiest season, lost a ton of employees, my mom was sick, I was stressed about the state of the world and those I loved and had to make sure we made it through the season, because Spring is what gets us through the year. There was a moment when I was worried we may not make it. We have to buy all the plants and materials ahead of time and had we not been able to stay open, we may not have. Then, there was the challenge of trying to run a business and also trying to do the right thing, which seemed to change every day. People either thought you were doing too much or not enough. It was extremely stressful. I don’t want to jinx anything, but every year, I think well if we can get through that we can get through almost anything, God willing.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As I mentioned, I come from a design background personally, so I see things that way. I also learned sooo much from my mom. Her best work quality was container gardening I suppose. She was so talented, and I don’t begin to measure up, but thankfully I learned a thing or two from her. Combined with my design knowledge, I love to talk about container gardening and anything creative. I like to think of gardening as painting in real life. Your yard is your canvas, and you are the artist! My other passion is nature and our place in it, so I love to discuss pollinators/natives and the importance of plants on a global and environmental scale. Due to so much habitat loss and development, most of our natural work is lost, so it is up to us as homeowners/gardeners to create oasis in the desert for pollinators and biodiversity to thrive, otherwise we may lose many key species that are crucial to the balance of our ecosystem.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I don’t want to presume I know the key to success, but I know what I value at least, and that is a kind heart, purpose, and understanding. I think the most important thing in business is to know how to deal with people. My mom would always say, “You can teach people plants, but you can’t teach people, people.” I couldn’t agree more. So I try to hire employees that are good with people and seem to have a kind heart. I try to extend that to customers as well. We really do care about you, want you to succeed, be happy and prosper. I think when we build others up it can only help the society as a whole. We are all on this ride together and we need to help each other and root for each other. I know it may be hard in all professions, but I also think you need to have pride in what you do and see the good in it somehow, that way going to work doesn’t seem so bad. Find a self-less reason and stick to it. For instance, if you work at Kroger or something, you could say well I am helping people feed themselves and their families, create memories, etc. and that makes it all worthwhile.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.stanleysgreenhouse.com
- Instagram: @stanleysgreenhouse
- Facebook: https://Facebook.com/stanleysgreenhouse
