Meet Sierra Govert!

I was raised in a garden center, and my dad has been a plant person all his life and really got me loving plants. I never wanted to get into plants when I was in high school and I always wanted to be a police officer. After working at the garden center for 4-5 years as a cashier, my dad pushed me to go outside and work in the plants. I had a couple of friends who were designers and loved their jobs. I got my Indiana Master Horticulture in 2014 and then I realized with the garden center and the plant knowledge I could make dream landscapes come true for people. I have loved every second of it since.

My office is out in the garden center. When I’m stuck, I just take a break and go for a walk. Sometimes I will ask other employees their opinions as well. As a designer we all have our favorite plants and it’s nice to use the view of another person in the industry. I also have several landscaper contractors, and garden centers on social media so looking at some of their projects also helps me to remember to keep things fresh. Having all the tools at my fingertips is a huge help in any situation. Not to mention the beautiful views.

One of my favorite things about landscape design is working with the clients to give them the outdoors they’ve always wanted. To me it is especially important to draw in all the different characteristics of their homes and yards so they can see their life in that vision. I’m a visual learner so for me I love it when I can show a family their exact home down to every detail including a dog or cat and they can say hey, look there’s ‘Jesse’ in the yard. I think it is important for them to be able to visualize their home and lifestyle in a design so it can come to life for them.

I want them to feel their home coming to life. In the design I want them to see every aspect of their yard and home and be able to visualize all the things that they do in life and let it come together in the landscape. Especially for families who spend a lot of time outside. I want them to be able to see all the things their yard can become.