Peggy Anne Montgomery Bio
Peggy Anne Montgomery is a people-oriented horticultural professional with more than 35 years of U.S. and international experience in trade- and consumer-focused garden marketing and communications, public relations and outreach, landscape design, and public horticulture. She studied horticulture and apprenticed in the Netherlands where she raised a family and owned a landscape design firm for 15 years. Her business specialized in sustainable, eco-friendly landscapes continuing her life-long interest in nature and the importance of balanced ecosystems. She has an extensive background in public relations and was part of the creative team that launched the Endless Summer® Hydrangea brand. Peggy Anne went on to study native plants at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware and Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. She is currently an account executive for the Garden Media Group, the premier horticulture marketing firm where she represents Royal Anthos, a consortium of Dutch bulbs growers and exporters. She is a long-standing member and Fellow of GardenComm and has written for numerous trade and popular publications. Her home garden has been featured in magazines, books, and television. Today she lives and gardens with her husband and fellow horticulturist Dan Benarcik in northern Delaware.
You can learn more about Peggy Anne on Garden Media Group, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Show Notes
Peggy Anne’s interest in horticulture germinating from her grandfather and mom and early gardening memories
Being told at a young age that she shouldn’t pursue horticulture because women don’t do that (and how we can change that type of thinking!)
Studying early childhood nutrition at University of Minnesota and then studying horticulture in the Netherlands
Peggy Anne’s learning practical horticulture by working in the Netherlands
Differences between horticulture education and practices in the Netherlands and the US
Returning to the US to work with Bailey Nurseries and helping with the Endless Summer® Hydrangea brand, the biggest woody plant brand launch in America
For plant marketing, the importance of truth and checking accuracy of information being shared, the role of stories, and building relationships with clients
The role of stories in connecting plants with people
The benefits of bulbs
Planting over 70,000 bulbs for the first stinzen garden in the US
How Peggy Anne stays current in marketing and horticulture
The practice of an evening walk to enjoy the garden and reflect on tasks
Her husband Dan Benarcik and his work at Chanticleer (and his motto dig, divide, repeat)
Creating trends reports with Katie Dubow and the Garden Media Group Team
Sprout social to see what people are talking about on social media
Using groundcovers more in the landscape to help manage weeds
Peggy Anne and Dan’s garden including gravel garden, pocket meadow, trees, and moss garden
Her cheat of just weeding the first foot into the bed
Andrew Bunting’s and Jeff Epping’s gravel gardens
Peggy Anne and Dan’s gravel garden construction and trialing and error
The most impactful thing Peggy Anne has done in her marketing career
Her favorite books including edible flowers, pruning espaliers, A Guide to the Great Gardens of the Philadelphia Region, and American Roots
Peggy Anne encouraging people to not be afraid to prune plants
Her current interest in tropical plants and integrating tropicals into the garden in creative ways
Propagating horticulturists by sharing the passion of plants and cultivating relationships with people
Finding Peggy Anne Montgomery on Garden Media Group, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Flower Bulbs